Shipment ranking 3Q23: Global energy-storage cell shipments hit 143.8 GWh, CATL leads the pack

The world shipped 143.8 GWh of energy-storage cells in the first three quarters of 2023, with utility-scale and C&I accounting for 122.2 GWh and residential and communication energy storage for 21.6 GWh, according to newly released Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database of InfoLink Consulting.

However, the quarter-on-quarter growth of the third quarter was merely 9%. Among the three major markets, China's demand continued to increase rapidly, while Europe and the U.S. saw lower demand due to inventory pressure and high interest rates. Additionally, utility-scale energy storage projects in Europe and the U.S. continued to experience delays in grid connection due to aging grids and the extended lead time of transformers. The quarterly growth rate of energy-storage cell shipments in the fourth quarter will decline to only 13% from that in 2022. Accordingly, the estimation of annual global energy-storage cell shipment decreased from 210 GWh to 203 GWh.

The top five companies with the highest shipment volumes in the first three quarters of 2023 remain the same as in the first half, namely CATL, BYD, EVE Energy, Rept Battero, and Hithium, all shipping more than 8 GWh. The five-firm concentration ratio (CR5) reached 72.8%, up 3.5% compared with the first half, indicating increased concentration due to overcapacity and price competition.

Meanwhile, rankings from the top six to ten shuffled, with shipment volumes ranging at 3-6 GWh. The ten-firm concentration ratio (CR10) reached 92%.

South Korea's Samsung SDI and LG collectively shipped about 11 GWh in the first three quarters, with a market share of 7.5% each.

Source: Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database. InfoLink Consulting.
 

The top five companies in the utility-scale and C&I energy storage sector are CATL, BYD, EVE Energy, Hithium, and Rept Battero. Except for CATL, which shipped over 40 GWh, the remaining four companies all shipped below 20 GWh. With cell prices now reaching below RMB 0.5/Wh, manufacturers with cost and financial advantages, as well as those taking the lead in obtaining high-capacity cell certifications, are more likely to survive this overcapacity.

Source: Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database. InfoLink Consulting.
 

In the residential and telecom energy storage sector, the top five companies are CATL, Rept Battero, EVE Energy, BYD, and Great Power, with the CR5 of the first three quarters of this year reaching 84.7%, up 4.9% from 79.8% in the first half. While the market concentration has notably risen, the top five manufacturers divvy up the market rather evenly.

Inventory accumulation continued affecting the global residential and telecom energy storage in Q3. Inventory will not return to a healthy level until the end of the year. Previously expected to pick up during 3Q23 and 4Q23, shipments are likely to recover in the first two quarters of next year. The estimation of annual global cell shipments for residential and telecom energy storage decreased from 35 GWh to 28 GWh.

Source: Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database. InfoLink Consulting.
 

This year, policies, inventory depletion, raw material prices, and overcapacity disrupted supply-demand equilibrium and affected market sentiment. Although the global installed capacity has grown as expected, suppliers have begun adjusting shipments due to inventory pressure, resulting in slower growth in shipments compared to last year. In its Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database, InfoLink expects the annual energy-storage cell shipments in 2023 to reach 203 GWh, with 175 GWh for utility-scale and C&I energy storage and 28 GWh for residential and telecom energy storage.