Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, south China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of pumped-storage unit, staff members working

FILE: Yunnan Province, southwest China - 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Aerial shots of energy storage power station

FILE: Guangdong Province, south China - 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of employees examining devices

FILE: Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwest China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Power facilities

Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Qiu Chenguang, director, Dispatching Operation Department, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company (ending with shot 6):
"Once the No. 2 unit is connected to the grid, it will provide the power network with a peak-shaving capacity of 300,000 kilowatts for four consecutive hours, significantly enhancing the regulation flexibility of the regional power grid."

FILE: Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, southwest China - 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Aerial shots of Energy Storage Station; facilities
7. Various of interior of energy storage station; facilities; staff working

FILE: Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, northwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Aerial shot of molten-salt solar thermal power plant

FILE: Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, northwest China - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Aerial shot of mirrors

FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of wind turbines

FILE: Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China - 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Aerial shots of energy storage system with sodium-ion batteries

FILE: Liaoning Province, northeast China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Aerial shots of land; power transmission towers

China's energy storage industry has been seeing strong development momentum in 2026, with rapid expansion in installed capacity and continuous emergence of new technologies, effectively supporting renewable energy development and enhancing power supply reliability.

China's first domestically produced variable-speed pumped-storage unit started electrical installation in Zhaoqing, south China's Guangdong province on Saturday. By precisely controlling pumping speed, the unit can store 280,000 cubic meters of water in the reservoir per hour using electricity generated from renewable sources, which can later be converted back into green power when needed.

Driven by the continuous rapid growth of renewable energy installations nationwide, China has accelerated the construction of pumped-storage hydropower projects in 2026. As of the end of March, the country's operational pumped-storage capacity had reached 67.09 gigawatts. In the first quarter, pumped-storage units generated 21.4 terawatt-hours of electricity, a 12.8 percent year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile, China's new-type energy storage construction is also gathering pace. In Huai'an, east China's Jiangsu province, the second unit of the world's largest compressed-air energy storage power station is undergoing commissioning before grid connection.

"Once the No. 2 unit is connected to the grid, it will provide the power network with a peak-shaving capacity of 300,000 kilowatts for four consecutive hours, significantly enhancing the regulation flexibility of the regional power grid," said Qiu Chenguang, director of the Dispatching Operation Department at State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company.

As of the end of March, China's operational new-type energy storage capacity had exceeded 140 gigawatts.

Alongside the growth in installed capacity, new-type energy storage technologies are also advancing. Currently, lithium-ion battery energy storage has entered the stage of large-scale commercial application, accounting for over 96 percent of the total installed capacity.

Furthermore, disruptive frontier technologies, including solid-state batteries and hydrogen energy storage, are also witnessing accelerated development. New-type energy storage is emerging as a pivotal force in promoting renewable energy utilization and strengthening power supply guarantees.