The rapidly developing intelligent computing centers have opened a new chapter for long-duration energy storage.
China and the United States are simultaneously deploying the "Stargate," and the new infrastructure in the digital age is in full swing. However, behind the explosive growth of AI computing power, an anxiety about "electricity" is spreading.
In the past year, due to the high - load electricity consumption of AI data centers in many parts of the United States, there have been accidents such as power outages in residential areas, overloaded power grid equipment, and even fires, causing huge losses.
Just last month, a large - scale power outage occurred in some areas of Seattle, the United States. This was already the third power outage in the area that month.
AI data centers are like huge "electricity tigers," and the growth rate of their energy consumption has exceeded the carrying capacity of power grid infrastructure. Except for China, there is a shortage of power supply in most parts of the world at present.
Unexpectedly, this dramatic conflict between "computing power" and "electricity" has triggered a wave in a niche energy segment.
In October 2025, NVIDIA proposed at the OCP (Open Compute Project Global Summit 2025) that AIDC should be equipped with energy storage to stabilize load fluctuations, clarifying the necessity of energy storage for AIDC and the next - generation power distribution scheme.
This scheme is considered to be of guiding significance: the long - duration energy storage system has become the core of the next - generation AIDC design and will also become the next super - growth engine of the energy storage industry.
In the past, the core propositions of energy storage were emergency support and power grid peak shaving. Now, the rigid requirements of intelligent computing centers, such as high computing power density, high - frequency power fluctuations, and long - term stable power supply, are forcing energy storage technologies to leap from "short - term response" to "long - term support" and upgrade from "auxiliary configuration" to "core infrastructure."
From short - duration energy storage to long - duration energy storage, this process will also change the existing industrial chain structure, business models, etc., and reshape the competitive landscape of the energy storage industry.
The booming AIDC not only constructs the infrastructure of the digital economy but also sets off a profound transformation in the energy field. With its extreme power demand as the key, it has opened a new chapter in the energy storage industry.
01
Power Hunger, Long - Duration Energy Storage is the Antidote
"Our biggest problem is not the supply of chips, but that the power supply capacity and the construction speed of data centers need to keep up. If not, the chips can only gather dust in the warehouse."
The statement of Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, in a recent podcast pointed out the new "stumbling block" in the expansion of the computing power industry - electricity.
Computing power chips evolve on a "year" or even "month" basis, while power infrastructure requires a long - term planning, approval, and construction cycle of "5 - 10 years." This directly leads to the industrial bottleneck of "computing power waiting for electricity."
The solution to the problem points to energy storage. The role of energy storage is like an "accelerator" for electricity. The growth of computing power has given rise to multiple contradictions on the power supply side (load fluctuations, green power adaptation, high costs, and stable power supply), and energy storage is the core infrastructure to resolve these contradictions and support the continuous expansion of computing power.
Equipping AIDC with energy storage can reduce the dependence on power grid expansion and significantly compress the construction cycle of power infrastructure.
The load of AIDC fluctuates violently, and energy storage is needed to stabilize the impact on the power grid, protect equipment, and extend its service life.
AIDC requires zero - interruption power supply, and energy storage is needed to deal with long - term power grid failures, regional power restrictions, etc.
This is also one of the reasons why technology giants such as Microsoft, OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Huawei are highly concerned about energy storage.
It is worth mentioning that due to the particularity of the AIDC scenario, the common short - duration energy storage (usually referring to energy storage for 2 - 4 hours) can no longer meet the long - cycle and high - load power demand.
The load of AIDC fluctuates violently, and the power can fluctuate by up to 70% within tens of milliseconds, forming an "impact - type load." Short - duration energy storage cannot continuously provide high - rate power output, which will lead to unstable voltage and affect services.
AIDC requires continuous and stable power supply. Any millisecond - level power outage may cause losses of millions or even tens of millions of yuan, while short - duration energy storage can only provide stable power for a few hours and cannot deal with long - term power grid fluctuations or failures.
In addition, once the proportion of green power access to AIDC reaches a certain level, long - duration energy storage will become a rigid demand. It not only solves the contradiction between the inherent intermittency and instability of green power and the stable power supply of the power grid but also can reduce the carbon emissions of intelligent computing centers.
If short - duration energy storage solves the "power outage problem" of AIDC, then long - duration energy storage solves the "survival problem" of AIDC.
AIDC needs reliable long - duration energy storage solutions for energy storage.
(Note: Long - duration energy storage usually refers to energy storage technologies with a discharge duration of ≥4 hours, such as lithium - ion batteries, flow batteries, sodium - ion batteries, etc.)
Currently, enterprises such as NVIDIA and Huawei have included long - duration energy storage in the next - generation AIDC technology standards.
Wu Zuyu, the founder and chairman of Hichen Energy Storage, said that long - duration energy storage technology is the core support for solving the volatility problem of new energy and building an all - weather green power system, and it is also the unwavering strategic anchor point of Hichen Energy Storage. Therefore, in 2022, when long - duration energy storage had not yet become an industry consensus, Hichen had taken the lead in layout and R & D.
02
The Trillion - Dollar New Energy Storage Opportunity
The booming AIDC is one of the typical scenarios for long - duration energy storage. Its explosive growth and the exponential increase in computing power density have fully demonstrated the core value of long - duration energy storage technology.
In fact, not only in the AIDC scenario, in the future new energy era, long - duration energy storage is the "key infrastructure" to achieve energy supply - demand balance and promote energy freedom.
With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy, there is a fundamental contradiction between the intermittency of new energy power generation and the stability and flexibility required by the power system. Relying solely on 2 - to 4 - hour short - duration energy storage cannot meet the system balance requirements, and long - duration energy storage is an inevitable trend of development.
The industry generally believes that when the proportion of new energy power generation exceeds 20%, long - duration energy storage of more than 4 hours will become a rigid demand; after the proportion exceeds 50%, long - duration energy storage of more than 8 hours is essential.
Therefore, various manufacturers are currently actively deploying AIDC energy storage and related technologies to compete for the dominant position in future competition. For example, Sungrow and Shuangdeng Group have both launched relevant solutions.
Hichen, which has been deploying in the long - duration energy storage field for a long time, is also at the forefront of the industry in terms of mass production.
At the first Ecology Day in 2023, Hichen released the world's first kilowatt - hour - level long - duration energy storage battery and system. Since then, Hichen has continuously invested in technological research, and its products have been continuously iterated and upgraded. This year, it achieved the world's large - scale commercial delivery of 1175Ah cells (suitable for energy storage application scenarios of 4 hours and above).
Behind the "early layout, early R & D, and early mass production" is Hichen Energy Storage's forward - looking insight into the industry trend: long - duration energy storage has become the key support for energy transformation and will also be the decisive factor for the success or failure of energy storage enterprises.
At the third Ecology Day held on December 12, Hichen Energy Storage made another breakthrough and released three long - duration energy storage achievements: the native 8 - hour long - duration energy storage system ∞Power8 6.9MW/55.2MWh, the 8 - hour dedicated cell ∞Cell 1300Ah 8h, and the "lithium - sodium synergy" full - duration energy storage solution for AIDC.
Among them, the long - duration energy storage system ∞Power8 is based on an 8 - hour energy storage system as the underlying architecture and an 8 - hour dedicated cell as the core support. It uses a native design from the cell to the system and is a truly dedicated 8 - hour long - duration energy storage solution.
At the same time, Hichen also released the world's first lithium - sodium synergy AIDC full - duration energy storage solution, precisely targeting the core anxiety of AIDC power consumption. For the "impact - type load," the high - rate sodium - ion power system can smooth out load fluctuations of up to 70% within 20 milliseconds to ensure grid safety; the lithium - ion backup system can partially or even completely replace diesel generators. It is estimated that in a 4 - hour power backup scenario, the overall power backup cost is more than 20% lower than that of the diesel generator solution.
It is worth mentioning that this solution can also connect to 8 - hour long - duration energy storage at the source end, efficiently couple and intelligently manage with renewable energy such as solar and wind energy, making the green power in AIDC change from "weather - dependent" to "plannable and dispatchable." It can not only significantly smooth out daily power fluctuations and convert wasted wind and solar energy into stable power but also create clear benefits through peak - valley price differences.
In addition, Hichen Energy Storage also released the "Blue Book of China's AIDC Energy Storage Industry in 2025" and launched the "All - Weather Green Power · 135 Lighthouse Project," jointly building an ecosystem with industrial chain partners to enhance brand influence and global competitiveness.
Through the release of new products, solutions, and plans, Hichen Energy Storage has not only redefined product standards and consolidated its leading position in the long - duration energy storage field but also further penetrated into the AIDC industrial ecosystem and achieved value co - creation with the ecosystem.
"In the wave where the integration of computing and electricity has become an industry consensus, we focus on the collaborative innovation of long - duration energy storage and AIDC intelligent computing centers. This is not only technological collaboration but also a strategic leap for us to become a value co - creator in the industrial ecosystem." said Wang Pengcheng, the co - founder and president of Hichen Energy Storage.
03
Long - Duration Energy Storage, Opening a New Chapter in the Energy Storage Industry
As the global new energy development enters a new stage, represented by the AIDC market, long - duration energy storage will become an important development trend and the core of competition among energy storage manufacturers.
From the perspective of market data, this trend is becoming clearer.
In the domestic market, from January to September this year, projects with a duration of 4 hours and above accounted for 56% of the winning bids; globally, according to the prediction of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization, by 2050, the electricity storage of long - duration energy storage will account for 95% of the total electricity storage of all energy storage.
It can be said that whoever masters the strongest long - duration energy storage technology will gain a head - start advantage in future competition.
Among multiple long - duration energy storage technology routes such as lithium - ion batteries, flow batteries, and pumped - storage hydropower, lithium - ion long - duration energy storage has become the optimal solution in the long - duration energy storage field due to its four core competitiveness: excellent performance, cost advantage, mature technology, and full - scenario adaptability.
Among them, 8 - hour energy storage is the "better solution" in multiple dimensions such as economy, safety, and system adaptability.
8 hours is the best balance point between the economy and performance of lithium - ion long - duration energy storage. Data shows that in the global long - duration energy storage procurement in 2024, projects of 4 hours and above reached 15.11GW/62.59GWh, and 8 - hour energy storage is becoming the mainstream technical direction.
Behind the emergence of lithium - ion long - duration energy storage, the iteration and large - scale application of large - capacity cells are the core foundation and the key prerequisite for it to surpass other energy storage technologies.
In recent years, the progress of large - capacity cell technology has solved the core pain points faced by long - duration energy storage. The application of ultra - thick electrode technology has significantly increased the energy density of cells; the large - scale application of semi - solid battery technology has strengthened safety and extended the cycle life, significantly reducing the full - life - cycle operating cost.
Hichen Energy Storage is an active promoter of this process of large - capacity cell application. When the industry was still within the framework of 314Ah batteries, Hichen officially launched the R & D work of large - capacity batteries in 2022 and pre - arranged kilowatt - hour - level long - duration energy storage technology.
As the world's second - largest energy storage battery supplier, its active layout has greatly accelerated the maturity and large - scale application of large - capacity cell technology.
At the same time, Hichen is also the first enterprise in the industry to clearly propose the concept of "native 8 - hour energy storage" (Native 8 - hour ESS). It has always adhered to the technology iteration strategy of "mass - producing one generation, researching and developing the next generation, and pre - researching the generation after that" and continuously promoted the technological and product innovation of lithium - ion long - duration energy storage.
It should be noted that the company's long - duration energy storage solution is not simply to extend the charging and discharging time. Instead, based on the first - principle, it reconstructs the entire stack from cell materials, structural design, system integration to control strategies, and finally builds a systematic innovation barrier in four dimensions: materials, processes, systems, and services.
Downstream, Hichen Energy Storage precisely targets scenarios with high green power demand, high electricity price fluctuations, and high reliability requirements, including AIDC, energy storage for large - scale wind and solar bases, and industrial and commercial micro - grids and off - grid systems, and has created targeted solutions and implemented benchmark projects globally.
In addition, Hichen Energy Storage is also deeply involved in the compilation of national and industry standards in key fields such as long - duration energy storage and sodium - ion batteries, and has gained important influence in core technology fields.
With the continuous progress and breakthrough of technology, the duration of lithium - ion energy storage will be further extended, and the cost will continue to decrease.
In Wu Zuyu's view, this is a huge opportunity for energy storage. If the comprehensive cost of new energy power generation plus energy storage can be lower than the off - grid cost of traditional energy, the global new energy storage demand will reach 150TWh, and the cumulative output value is expected to exceed one trillion yuan, becoming an ultra - large - scale industrial track.
In this context, Wu Zuyu said that Hichen Energy Storage aims to continuously achieve extreme cost reduction through technological innovation and plans to push the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) of energy storage into the "0.1 - yuan era" in the next 5 years.
This means that energy storage not only needs to achieve "the same lifespan as wind and solar energy" but also "the same price as wind and solar energy," truly becoming the core technology to support global energy transformation.
As the era