China’s operational new-type energy storage capacity reached 167 GW/435 GWh at the end of September 2026, up 63% year on year, according to figures released by the National Energy Administration (NEA) on October 30.

The data were presented at the agency’s quarterly press conference on national energy developments. China’s new-type energy storage category covers electrochemical, compressed-air and other emerging storage systems, but excludes conventional pumped hydro.

Compared with 135.93 GW/351.12 GWh at the end of 2025, the latest figures indicate a net capacity increase of approximately 31 GW/84 GWh during the first nine months of 2026.

The NEA reported that average storage duration had increased to 2.61 hours, up approximately 0.27 hours year on year. Equivalent utilization hours reached around 915 hours during the nine-month period, an increase of approximately 10 hours compared with the same period of 2025.

The improvements suggest that China’s storage expansion is being accompanied by gradual changes in system configuration and utilization, rather than growth in installed capacity alone.

According to the NEA, the rapid development of new-type storage has been supported by government policies, technological innovation, industrial supply chains and growing demand for flexibility in the power system.

China’s combined wind and solar generating capacity exceeded 2.01 TW at the end of September, accounting for approximately 48.7% of total installed power capacity. As variable renewable generation expands, storage is increasingly needed to absorb surplus electricity, shift generation to higher-demand periods and provide fast-response grid services.

The structure of China’s storage market is also changing.

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