Growing rapidly alongside China's new energy vehicle industry is the energy storage industry.

A 300MW/600MWh energy storage project backed by CATL, Nio and Tesla's power battery supplier, broke ground on July 10 in Shanxi province in northern China.

The project, which covers a total area of 25,000 square meters, is designed with the latest generation of outdoor prefabricated pods and is expected to be operational by the end of December this year.

(Source: CATL)

As a comparison, a 100MW/400MWh energy storage project has been launched in Ventura County, California, using 142 Tesla Megapack battery storage systems, according to multiple media reports recently.

The project is one of the largest operational battery storage systems in the US. The 100MW battery storage system will provide enough power to power the city of Oxnard in Ventura County for four hours or the entire county of Ventura for 30 minutes.

The CATL project is being built by Guowang Shidai - a joint venture between CATL and State Grid Integrated Emerge Service - and China Huadian Co.

After the commissioning, the energy storage plant will participate in auxiliary services such as peak and frequency regulation of the power grid and provide services related to the field of consumption for the growing number of new energy plants.

Upon completion, the project will be Shanxi's first large-scale, centralized lithium-ion battery energy storage power plant.

CATL will use advanced electrochemical energy storage technology to make it possible for renewable energy to replace fossil energy, said Robin Zeng, Chairman of the company, at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Reng Weili, CEO of State Grid Integrated Energy Service, said the project is significant and will set a precedent in China and the world in this field.

Prior to this, Lin Wu, Secretary of Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, met with Zeng in Taiyuan, Shanxi on July 9 to exchange views on promoting in-depth cooperation in the new energy industry.

Lin said that Shanxi, as a major energy province, is continuously adjusting and optimizing its energy supply structure, developing clean energy, and building a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.

CATL is a leading global power battery and energy storage battery company, which is highly compatible with Shanxi's direction of promoting energy structure adjustment, he said.