From “Assembling Machines” to “Assembling Operations”: How Can the Energy Storage Industry Win the Battle for Value?

On July 31, the "PV & Energy Storage Wealth Creation Private Salon · Chongqing" and the Chongqing Saihang Ecosystem Partner Co-Creation Summit were successfully held. At the event, Xue Jinhao, Senior Pre-sales Technical Manager of JDEnergy, delivered a keynote speech titled "The New Normal of the Spot Market: Creating Value Throughout the Entire Lifecycle of Energy Storage." His presentation provided a comprehensive perspective on the energy storage industry's transformation from capacity-driven expansion to value-oriented development.

Xue pointed out that China's new energy storage industry is undergoing a fundamental shift in its underlying logic. The sector has moved beyond policy-driven capacity expansion and entered a new stage where market competition is centered on value creation. The key factor determining the success of an energy storage project is no longer whether capacity is installed, but whether it can be operated more efficiently. Likewise, a company's competitiveness is no longer measured by installed capacity alone, but by its ability to establish a complete value chain that extends from equipment delivery to lifecycle revenue management.

In response to these industry changes, Xue proposed four strategic transformation pathways. First, companies should evolve from simply selling equipment to delivering asset returns. Second, they should provide integrated solutions that combine energy storage, operation, and power trading. Third, long-term operation and maintenance (O&M) services should be leveraged to create deeper alignment of interests between service providers and customers. Finally, companies should abandon short-term profit-oriented thinking and instead focus on maximizing customers' long-term returns.

JDEnergy has consistently implemented its strategy of "Building on Hardware, Breaking Through with Intelligence." On the hardware side, the company has established a comprehensive product portfolio consisting of the eBlock, eStation, and Galaxy series, covering a wide range of applications, including utility-scale generation, grid-side projects, and commercial & industrial energy storage. On the software side, its eTrader intelligent power trading and operation platform transforms the expertise of professional traders into intelligent algorithms, enabling forecasting before trading, real-time operational optimization, and post-event performance analysis. As a result, operational efficiency has increased by 70%, while the platform's cumulative managed capacity has exceeded 10 GWh, with profitability consistently ranking among the top 10 in the industry.

By the end of 2025, JDEnergy had achieved more than 10 GWh of cumulative installed capacity, delivered energy storage solutions across over 2,000 application scenarios, deployed more than 30,000 energy storage blocks, and expanded its business footprint to more than 10 countries worldwide, firmly securing its position among the global first-tier energy storage companies.

As the era of competing solely on installed capacity comes to an end, refined operational excellence is rapidly emerging as the industry's new competitive frontier. Companies capable of integrating hardware, intelligent algorithms, power trading, and professional services into a deliverable asset value proposition will be best positioned to lead the next stage of industry competition. Ultimately, this is the answer to the industry's battle for long-term value.