Large-scale procurement of high-capacity energy storage cells above 314Ah is accelerating. Yesterday, Xingchen New Energy launched the first batch of 10GWh energy storage cell framework procurement for 2027, with 314Ah and 587Ah energy storage cells each accounting for half. According to incomplete statistics from Hangjiashuo Energy Storage, including this framework procurement, the total scale of related procurement/bidding for high-capacity energy storage cells above 314Ah this year has reached 59.8GWh. Among them, the procurement explicitly for cells with a capacity of 587Ah and above reached 19.8GWh, accounting for 33.11% of the total procurement scale of large cells.
▍ Xingchen New Energy: Procurement Volume of 587Ah and Above Cells Accounts for Half
According to the bidding announcement for the framework agreement procurement of the first batch of 10GWh LFP energy storage projects by Xingchen New Energy for 2027, this procurement mainly covers two major categories of cells: 314Ah LFP energy storage cells and 587Ah and above high-capacity LFP energy storage cells, with an estimated procurement capacity of 5GWh for each.
Among them, high-capacity cells above 587Ah account for half of the procurement volume. Moreover, bidders are required to submit existing type test reports, or they can issue a letter of commitment to complete the full set of test reports within 3 months after the issuance of the notification of winning the bid.
In terms of performance, bidders are required to have a cumulative supply performance of no less than 10GWh for ≥314Ah LFP cells from January 1, 2025, to the bid deadline.
It is also learned that in January this year, Xingchen New Energy launched the framework agreement procurement for a 5GWh LFP energy storage project; in April, it signed a 30GWh cell product cooperation agreement with Hithium, covering the years 2026-2028; in May, it reached 10GWh lithium-ion battery cooperations with BYD Energy Storage and Cornex New Energy respectively. The cumulative cooperation volume for energy storage cells in these instances reached 65GWh. Previously, the cell models were not explicitly specified, but this procurement further clarifies the procurement volume of high-capacity cells.
▍ High-Capacity Cells Enter Large-Scale Procurement Phase
According to incomplete statistics from Hangjiashuo Energy Storage, public data shows that from the beginning of 2026 to date (October 13), there have been a total of 11 related procurement/bidding projects for high-capacity cells above 314Ah, with the total scale of large cell procurement/bidding reaching 59.8GWh.
Notably, the procurement rules for large cells above 500Ah have changed, shifting from the previous "allowed to participate" to direct nomination and separate quota allocation.
Accelerated iteration of large cells: The procurement of cells with a capacity of 587Ah and above reached 19.8GWh, accounting for 33.11% of the total procurement scale of large cells, with the purchasers mainly being central and state-owned enterprises. Meanwhile, projects from Xingchen New Energy, Lisiner, and Zhongchu Technology have all designated high-capacity cells as independent bid packages. In addition to dedicated cell procurement, many energy storage system procurements also require the use of large cells. This indicates that high-capacity cells have become an industry consensus and have begun to enter the large-scale procurement of central and state-owned enterprises in the form of independent bid packages.
Raised entry barriers: Over 80% of the purchasers (9 companies) have set GWh-level supply performance requirements for bidding enterprises, among which 4 require above 5GWh. SPIC also explicitly requires the annual production capacity of the bidding products to be no less than 5GWh. Delivery capability has become the most valued criterion for purchasers. In addition, Zhongchu Technology, China Huaneng, Xingchen New Energy, and others also require type test reports under specified standards. It is evident that the market's screening of high-capacity cell suppliers is shifting towards a comprehensive evaluation of engineering delivery capabilities and standard compliance.
Initial emergence of the competitive landscape among leading enterprises: Based on the currently disclosed winning/shortlisted enterprises, the competitive landscape among leading players has initially emerged: Hithium has the highest frequency of appearance, winning or being shortlisted for 6 projects; followed by Pengcheng Wuxian with 4 projects. In addition, Cornex New Energy, Envision AESC, CATL (300750), EVE Energy, and other enterprises have also made gains in multiple projects, showing a clear trend of concentration among leading players.
Quotations for large cells are around CNY 0.3-0.5/Wh: Judging from the quotations of various bidding enterprises, the quotations for 314Ah+ cells basically remain at around CNY 0.3-0.5/Wh. However, the quotations for 500Ah cells in some projects have dropped to CNY 0.3-0.4/Wh, and the competition is becoming increasingly fierce. For example, in Zhongchu Technology's 7GWh 2026 cell framework bidding and procurement project, EVE Energy quoted CNY 0.383/Wh, CALB (03931) quoted CNY 0.375/Wh, and Pengcheng Wuxian quoted CNY 0.360/Wh.
From the demand side, energy storage cells above 314Ah have entered a large-scale procurement phase. In centralized procurement projects such as those by Xingchen New Energy and NARI Technology, the procurement share of large cells above 500Ah has reached 50%. High-capacity cells are gradually becoming a rigid demand. However, due to the production ramp-up of high-capacity cells above 587Ah, the tight supply and demand pattern for large cells above 500Ah in the industry is likely to continue.
Note: The content of this article is only for sorting out public information in the energy storage industry, industrial research, and objective analysis. The listed companies mentioned in the article are only for reference as industry chain cases and do not constitute any investment basis. The market has risks, and investment should be cautious.