The 2026 Government Work Report clearly identifies the development of new energy storage as a key task, while emphasizing the promotion of zero-carbon parks and factories, coordinated development of computing power and electricity, and the creation of new formats in the intelligent economy. These policy signals reflect the country’s profound considerations on energy security and industrial upgrading.
1. What is “New” Energy Storage?
Many people wonder: Why add the word “new” before energy storage? What is the difference between it and traditional energy storage?
Traditional energy storage mainly refers to pumped hydro storage. Imagine building a huge “water tower” in the mountains—during off-peak hours (such as late night), excess electricity is used to pump water from the bottom of the mountain to a reservoir at the top, converting electrical energy into gravitational potential energy. During peak hours, the water is released to generate electricity, releasing the stored energy. This method has low costs and a long lifespan (over 50 years), making it a “stabilizer” for the national grid.
However, pumped hydro storage has obvious drawbacks: it has extremely strict geographical requirements—it needs suitable mountains, valleys, and abundant water resources, making it impossible to build in plain areas.
New energy storage is a collective term for various energy storage technologies other than pumped hydro storage, mainly including:
- Lithium battery energy storage: Equivalent to a “super power bank,” it can be placed in containers and flexibly deployed next to factories or office buildings.
- Flywheel energy storage: Like a tireless spinning top, it rotates continuously during normal operation and can release energy within 1 millisecond when grid fluctuations occur.
- Advanced compressed air energy storage: Utilizes underground abandoned mines or surface gas tanks, not picky about terrain, capable of storing and releasing energy across day and night cycles.
These technologies are like “light cavalry” in the power grid—unrestricted by geography and deployable on demand. This is their greatest breakthrough.
2. Why Has New Energy Storage Been Elevated to Such a High Strategic Level?
The core reason lies in two major challenges facing the country:
Challenge 1: Stability Issues of Green Energy
The output of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power is highly unstable—generation is massive when there is sun or wind, but drops sharply on cloudy days or when the wind stops. Without effective measures, it is difficult to integrate this green power into the grid on a large scale.
The role of new energy storage: It stores excess electricity when green energy generation is surplus and releases it when output is insufficient, acting as a “buffer pad” for the grid. This makes unstable green power stable and reliable. This is the key significance of new energy storage in the energy transition.
Challenge 2: Power Supply Assurance for the Intelligent Economy
With the explosive growth of intelligent economy formats such as AI large model training and intelligent computing centers, the requirements for power quality in computing infrastructure are extremely high—even a grid interruption of a fraction of a second can lead to massive data loss and render training efforts futile.
Traditional pumped hydro storage starts slowly and cannot respond to such rapid fluctuations. In contrast, new energy storage offers:
- Lithium batteries and compressed air energy storage can store cheap solar power during the day for use during evening peaks, reducing electricity costs for parks.
- Flywheel energy storage can respond within 1 millisecond, ensuring voltage stability in intelligent computing centers.
With the “close protection” of new energy storage, the intelligent economy and computing power industry can develop steadily.
3. New Energy Storage vs. Traditional Energy Storage: Role Positioning
If traditional energy storage is likened to the “main artery” of the energy network, responsible for overall regulation, then new energy storage is more like the “microcirculation” distributed throughout factories and server rooms, reaching every node that requires precise control.
The two complement each other: traditional storage ensures the stability of the main grid, while new storage addresses distributed and refined energy consumption needs.
4. iPower Solutions
As a professional provider of energy storage system solutions, iPower (艾麦斯电源) is deeply engaged in the field of new energy storage, providing customers with efficient and reliable products and services:
- Commercial and Industrial Energy Storage Systems: Using high-performance lithium batteries, supporting peak-valley arbitrage and demand management to help factories and parks reduce electricity costs.
- Zero-Carbon Park Solutions: Integrating photovoltaic + storage + intelligent EMS systems to achieve energy self-sufficiency in parks and assist in achieving zero-carbon goals.
- Backup Power for Intelligent Computing Centers: Equipped with flywheel + lithium battery hybrid systems, responding in milliseconds to ensure uninterrupted operation of data centers.
- Intelligent Energy Management: Cloud platform remote monitoring with AI algorithms to optimize charge/discharge strategies, maximizing storage returns.
5. Conclusion
The inclusion of new energy storage as a key task in the 2026 Government Work Report is not only a strategic choice for energy security but also a key support for promoting industrial upgrading and developing the intelligent economy. From “dual carbon” goals to zero-carbon parks, from green power to computing power assurance, new energy storage is reshaping the energy landscape.
iPower will continue to innovate technologically, providing customers with higher-quality energy storage products and solutions to support China’s energy transition and the development of the intelligent economy.
If you are interested in new energy storage solutions, please contact the iPower professional team. We will provide you with customized services.
