The molten salt energy storage sector is heating up.

A variety of new energy storage technologies are blooming. Currently, lithium - ion batteries stand out, while other technology routes such as molten salt energy storage, flow batteries, and compressed air energy storage are still in the early stage of commercial application or demonstration. However, these "niche" technology routes each have their own application scenarios where they can exert their advantages. The future installed capacity scale should not be underestimated. Among them, molten salt energy storage is an emerging track with rapid growth, particularly attracting the attention of capital.

Continuous breakthroughs in applications

The principle of molten salt energy storage technology is not complicated. It uses high - temperature molten salt as the energy storage medium. Molten salt can store a large amount of thermal energy at high temperatures and release it when needed, converting it into electrical energy or other forms of energy. Low capacity cost and small footprint are the significant advantages of molten salt energy storage technology. Concentrated solar power plants and coal - fired power plants are the most important application scenarios for molten salt energy storage technology.

Schematic diagram of the principle of molten salt energy storage

In August this year, the 1000 - megawatt - hour "coal - fired power + molten salt" heat storage project of Anhui Suzhou Thermal Power of China National Energy Group passed the 168 - hour trial operation and was officially put into commercial operation. In October, the world's first "two - tower, one - machine" concentrated solar power energy storage power plant - the 700,000 - kilowatt "concentrated solar power energy storage +" project in Guazhou, Jiuquan, Gansu successfully entered the full - system trial operation. The implementation of these two representative projects marks a further breakthrough in the application of molten salt energy storage.

Molten salt tower - type concentrated solar power plant

According to the listing application document submitted by Kexing Technology, a leading enterprise in the concentrated solar power generation field, to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October this year, as of the end of June 2025, the cumulative installed capacity of concentrated solar power generation in China was 1.52GW. It is predicted that by 2030, the existing installed capacity is expected to reach 17.7GW. This means that in the next five - plus years, there is more than ten - fold growth space for the installed capacity of concentrated solar power generation.

Kexing Technology pointed out in the application document: "One of the important application scenarios of molten salt energy storage technology is the heat storage and exchange system of concentrated solar power plants - one of the core systems of the second - generation concentrated solar power plants, enabling them to have energy storage functions. In addition to the concentrated solar power generation field, as one of the new energy storage technology routes, molten salt energy storage technology also has broad application scenarios due to its unique advantages."

Releasing commercial value

Currently, domestic listed companies involved in molten salt energy storage - related businesses include Dongfang Electric Heating (300217.SZ), Xizi Clean Energy (002534.SZ), Donghua Technology (002140.SZ), Lanpec Technologies (601798.SH), Dier Chemical (920304.BJ), etc. Among them, Lanpec Technologies leads in the molten salt storage tank sub - market, and Dier Chemical is a production enterprise specializing in potassium nitrate - type molten salt.

A relevant person from Lanpec Technologies told a reporter from Cailian Press that so far, there are about 50 concentrated solar molten salt energy storage projects built and under construction in China, and the company has participated in nearly 20 of them, mainly responsible for the design, manufacturing, and installation of molten salt storage tanks. In addition, it has also participated in overseas concentrated solar molten salt energy storage projects in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, etc.

The above - mentioned company person said that molten salt storage tanks are the core equipment in energy storage systems such as concentrated solar power generation. Since they store high - temperature and corrosive molten salt inside and are subject to complex load changes during operation, there are a series of strict technical requirements in terms of design, materials, construction, and operation and maintenance, with high requirements for quality stability.

Currently, due to the highly promising development prospects of concentrated solar power generation, concentrated solar power enterprises are seizing high - quality solar resources, land resources, and policy opportunities. On the one hand, this is conducive to expanding the molten salt energy storage market, but on the other hand, it also attracts more enterprises to participate in the competition in the sub - market. It is understood that Lanpec Technologies' concentrated solar molten salt energy storage business has maintained steady growth and has gradually become an important pillar for the company's development.

Installation process of molten salt storage tank

The reporter from Cailian Press noticed that as of the end of 2024, among new energy storage technologies, except for lithium - ion batteries, the cumulative installed capacity of molten salt energy storage projects ranks among the top, followed closely by compressed air and flow battery projects. Currently, the industry generally believes that long - duration energy storage will reach a development inflection point, but it is still uncertain which technology route will ultimately win. This also means that how much growth space there will be for the molten salt energy storage track in the future remains to be seen.

This article is from the WeChat official account "GEM Observation". The author is Wang Xiao. 36Kr is published with authorization.