The blade battery on display at BYD's booth at the 2023 IDEE attracts a large crowd. Blade battery technology is a new type of lithium-ion battery developed by BYD, which is more stable and safer than conventional lithium ion batteries. Photo by Sun Yuchen

The 2023 International Digital Energy Expo (IDEE), held from June 29 through July 2 at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, attracted more than 400 leading digital energy enterprises from home and abroad to showcase cutting-edge technologies, products and solutions, offering visitors a window into how new technologies and products are bringing new experiences to energy consumption.

Ten enterprises in Pingshan joined the IDEE, including BTR, BYD, United Winners Laser, Woer Heat-shrinkable Material, Manst, BIT Shenzhen Automotive Research Institute, TOPA and Triteck. BTR showcased its latest sodium-ion battery anode and cathode material which can be used to solve various problems in sodium-ion battery application.

“With the ‘dual carbon’ goal, the global electrochemical energy storage industry is embracing new development opportunities,” said BTR chairman He Xueqin. “We will utilize our technical expertise in energy storage battery materials to drive high-quality development through innovation and contribute to Shenzhen which is striving to become a world-class hub for innovative energy storage industries.”

Visitors listen to exhibitors' introduction during the 2023 IDEE. Photos by Sun Yuchen

Shenzhen has a sound foundation in the energy storage industry with key materials preparation, battery cell process development and system integration application clusters thanks to an array of leading enterprises. Many firms here lead the world in the design and application of battery materials, battery management systems, energy management systems and inverters.

In 2022, the city’s new energy storage industry achieved a total output value of 267 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.4%. Dynanonic, BTR, and Senior Material are global leading enterprises. Shenzhen is home to nearly 7,000 firms engaged in energy storage-related businesses. Among them, there are 61 large-scale energy storage enterprises in Pingshan, with a total output value of 31.11 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45.3%. Representative enterprises include FinDreams Battery, Capchem, BTR, Hailei New Energy, Laplace, Katop and Shangshui, among others.

Scenes at the 2023 IDEE. Photos by Liu Xudong

In recent years, Shenzhen has rolled out a series of policies to promote the high-quality development of new energy and storage industries. In February, the city issued measures to accelerate the electrochemical energy storage industry development.

At the 2023 IDEE, Shenzhen also announced plans to set up the Shenzhen Electrochemical Energy Storage Industry Alliance, the Shenzhen Energy Storage Standardization Technical Committee, and the Shenzhen Electrochemical Energy Storage Industry Development Strategic Consultation Expert Committee. A new energy storage industry fund with a total scale exceeding 20 billion yuan to increase investment in core enterprises and projects will also be launched.