Chinese Solar Giants Pivot to Battery Storage as Panel Margins Shrink and Export Growth Slows

China's major solar panel manufacturers including JinkoSolar, JA Solar, LONGi Green Energy and Trina Solar are accelerating expansion into battery energy storage to boost revenue as photovoltaic sales growth slows and panel prices hit record lows, betting on rising global demand for renewable energy storage to offset weakening margins in their core business. JinkoSolar plans to nearly triple its battery manufacturing capacity from 5 gigawatt hours to 13 to 14 gigawatt hours by the end of 2026, while Trina Solar reported that its energy storage shipments in the March quarter more than quadrupled year-on-year with approximately 90 percent exported. Battery exports for energy storage are forecast to jump 30 percent to 150 gigawatt hours in 2026 according to Rystad Energy, compared with solar panel export growth of just 4.7 percent in 2025, the slowest pace since 2018.

 

The Commercial Logic Behind the Pivot

 

The solar sector has been hit by weaker domestic installations, slowing exports and record-low panel prices, with executives expecting global demand to decline in 2026. Gloria Gao, Marketing Director of JA Solar's storage unit, said that if a company only owns a solar business the small margins are not helping business grow and that energy storage offers the growth that solar alone no longer provides. Energy storage products took centre stage at JA Solar's booth at SNEC, the world's largest solar industry gathering attended by over half a million people, marking a visible shift from PV-focused displays at previous conferences. The move into batteries is driven by the recognition that customers increasingly want integrated solar-plus-storage solutions rather than sourcing from multiple suppliers.

Wood Mackenzie head of solar supply chain research Yana Hryshko said the trend reflects a fundamental shift in buying patterns, comparing the relationship between solar and storage buyers and manufacturers to a twenty-year marriage and predicting that within two years no one will discuss solar without storage. CATL, the world's biggest battery maker, expects energy storage to account for half of its global sales by 2030 up from 25 percent currently, reinforcing the scale of the market opportunity that solar manufacturers are targeting. China's solar majors are entering a market dominated by CATL and BYD but are betting on their supply chain expertise and ability to offer integrated solutions as competitive differentiators.

 

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Global Demand and Export Markets

 

Countries with high renewable energy penetration including Japan, Vietnam, India, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States and Australia were among the largest importers of batteries from China in 2025 according to energy think tank Ember, providing a geographically diverse demand base for Chinese solar manufacturers entering the storage market. The global storage export growth forecast of 30 percent for 2026 reflects the accelerating buildout of storage capacity alongside renewable energy in markets where solar and wind penetration has reached levels where grid stability requires dispatchable storage. Trina Solar reported that its energy storage shipments are approximately 90 percent exported, indicating that international markets rather than domestic demand are driving the initial growth of solar manufacturer storage businesses.

The pivot also reflects the structural reality that solar panel margins have been severely compressed by overcapacity across Chinese manufacturing while storage products currently command higher margins. Manufacturers with established customer relationships, logistics infrastructure and financial scale can leverage existing supply chain networks to enter storage at lower incremental cost than building entirely new businesses, giving them advantages over pure-play entrants lacking these foundations.

 

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Outlook for Chinese Solar-Plus-Storage Integration

 

The convergence of solar and storage as an integrated offering from China's major manufacturers is likely to accelerate the adoption of solar-plus-storage systems globally by simplifying procurement, reducing integration complexity and enabling competitive pricing through combined supply chains. Whether the solar manufacturers can successfully compete with CATL and BYD in battery technology quality and cost will determine the long-term commercial success of the pivot, as customers making twenty-year infrastructure commitments will scrutinise battery performance and warranty credibility alongside price. Sustained execution would establish a new class of integrated clean energy equipment provider from China that challenges the existing separation between solar and storage supply chains in global markets.

 

 

Source: Reuters