Policy support escorts the sustainable development of the energy storage industry

As a high-quality flexible resource, the new energy storage can play an important role in flexible regulation in a high proportion of new energy power systems, promote the effective use of new energy, improve the safety of the power system, and provide key technical support for energy transformation, which will be widely promoted and applied in the global energy storage market.

In July 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of New Energy Storage, further clarifying the development goals and key tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and medium- and long-term new energy storage, and vigorously promoting the construction and layout of energy storage projects on the power supply side, power grid side and user side under the premise of encouraging diversified energy storage development. In terms of market environment, clarify the status of independent market entities for new energy storage, improve the price mechanism of new energy storage, and improve the incentive mechanism of "new energy + energy storage" projects.

On October 24, 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council officially issued the Opinions on The Complete, Accurate, and Comprehensive Implementation of the New Development Concept to Achieve Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality, which requires a comprehensive promotion of the reform of the power grid system and the clarification of the market entity status of incremental distribution networks, microgrids and distributed power generations mainly based on renewable energy consumption. Accelerate the formation of a new power installation development mechanism supported by energy storage and peak regulation capacity, and strengthen the research, demonstration, and industrialization of new energy storage technologies such as electrochemistry and compressed air.

The construction of new energy storage is an important measure to improve the regulation capacity of the new power system and enhance the consumption and storage capacity of clean energy, which is of great significance for promoting the green transformation of energy, responding to extreme events, ensuring energy security, promoting high-quality energy development, and addressing the goal of climate change.

In recent years, with the strong support of various policies at different levels of the state and localities, new energy storage technologies and applications have ushered in important development opportunities. Among them, the development trend of electrochemical energy storage technology represented by lithium-ion batteries is particularly prominent. 

According to the statistics of the Energy Storage Application Branch of the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association, in recent years, there have been 5 fires in energy storage facilities in the United States, more than 30 accidents in South Korea, 1 accident in Belgium and the United Kingdom in Europe, and 1 accident in Australia. Since 2017, there have been 5 fire accidents in energy storage projects in China, of which 2 occurred in Shanxi Jingneng Power Plant, and the cause of the accident was the continuous discharge of the battery cabinet internal line to the battery management system to generate high temperature and cause fire; 1 case occurred in a user in Jiangsu, the cause of the accident was the reverse polarity of the battery, and a short circuit caused by a fire during on-site commissioning; 3 cases occurred in a user in Beijing. From the perspective of the cause of the accident, the main reason for some foreign energy storage accidents is the defect of the battery management system and the battery cell; The main causes of domestic energy storage accidents are electrical equipment failure or improper operation.

The safety of energy storage power stations is not only the safety of the battery itself but also involves the design and development of energy storage systems, equipment selection, manufacturing, power station design, construction, acceptance, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning and recycling, etc. The negligence of any link may lead to major safety accidents. At the same time, the corresponding safety management and supervision mechanisms need to be improved, the risk perception and early warning ability are weak, and the fire emergency disposal is difficult to solve, resulting in energy storage safety issues that have attracted much attention.

Therefore, the introduction of a strong electrochemical energy storage safety guarantee mechanism, strengthen the safety supervision mechanism measures, guide and urge enterprises to correctly view and solve the existing safety problems in reality, and strengthen the research and application of energy storage safety technology in the whole process is a strong guarantee for the sustainable development of the energy storage industry.

In order to effectively prevent and resolutely curb the occurrence of safety accidents in electrochemical energy storage power stations, in November 2021, the Office of the State Council Safety Committee issued the "Special Rectification Work Plan for Safety Risks of Electrochemical Energy Storage Power Stations", which requires that the completed and under construction electrochemical energy storage power stations be inspected in place one by one, guide the construction and installation of energy storage power stations, and continue to implement safety responsibilities after the special rectification is completed, and improve the intrinsic safety level of electrochemical energy storage power stations.

From the relevant policy documents issued in 2022, it can be fully explained that in order to ensure the realization of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the medium- and long-term development goals of new energy storage, the competent government departments attach great importance to the safety of electrochemical energy storage, and take a multi-pronged approach from multiple aspects such as safety technology research and development, safety production inspection and energy storage power station safety management to eliminate hidden dangers and ensure the smooth operation of the whole life cycle of electrochemical energy storage power stations.

In March, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "14th Five-Year Plan" New Energy Storage Development Implementation Plan, proposing to increase technology research and development, breakthrough key technologies such as battery intrinsic safety control, electrochemical energy storage system safety early warning, system multi-level protective structure and key materials, efficient fire extinguishing and anti-re-ignition, and overall safety design of energy storage power stations, to support the safe operation of large-scale energy storage power stations. Break through the rapid detection of cycle life and aging status evaluation technology of energy storage batteries, and develop related technologies for the health assessment, sorting, and repair of decommissioned batteries. Research on the control protection and security defense technology of multiple new energy storage access grid systems. Promote and improve the laws, regulations and standards for the safe production of new energy storage, improve the management system, clarify the main body of safety responsibility in the upstream and downstream links of the industry, strengthen the implementation of safety responsibility, and build a solid safety bottom line.

In April, the National Energy Administration issued the notice of the "National Electric Power Safety Production Inspection Work Plan", requiring electric power enterprises to incorporate electrochemical energy storage power stations into the enterprise safety production work system, strengthen the safety management of electrochemical energy storage power stations planning and design, optimize the selection of power station equipment, strictly complete acceptance and grid-connected access management, actively participate in the construction of the safety monitoring information platform for electrochemical energy storage power stations, and improve the intrinsic safety level of power stations; Strengthen the operation and maintenance management of power station equipment, ensure the safe and stable operation of equipment, and prevent accidents; Enhance the emergency fire disposal capability of power stations, and eliminate the occurrence of abnormal power stations that endanger the operation safety of the power system.

In May, the National Energy Administration issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Safety Management of Electrochemical Energy Storage Power Stations", which attaches great importance to the safety management of electrochemical energy storage power stations, and strengthens the safety management of electrochemical energy storage power stations planning and design, does a good job in the selection of equipment for electrochemical energy storage power stations, strictly accepts the construction of electrochemical energy storage power stations, strictly integrates electrochemical energy storage power stations into the grid, and strengthens the operation and maintenance safety management of electrochemical energy storage power stations. Seven aspects of improving the emergency fire disposal capacity of electrochemical energy storage power stations put forward specific measures for the safety of electrochemical energy storage power stations.

Among them, in strengthening the safety management of the planning and design of electrochemical energy storage power stations, it is proposed to strengthen risk assessment. In the process of project planning of electrochemical energy storage power stations, it is necessary to adhere to the bottom line thinking, strengthen safety risk assessment and demonstration, and reasonably determine the site selection, layout, and safety facilities construction of electrochemical energy storage power stations. Strengthen design review. Design units with corresponding qualifications shall be entrusted to carry out design work and organize design reviews.

The introduction of relevant policies will have important guiding significance for the safe construction and operation and maintenance of electrochemical energy storage power stations and provide various reference bases for system integrators, owner units, energy storage manufacturers, and safety supporting enterprises, thereby greatly reducing the potential risks caused by electrochemical energy storage and escorting the sustainable development of the energy storage industry.