36kr Going Global·Industry | Orders Exploding, Production Capacity Critical, Household Energy Storage "Surging" in 2026

**“**By 2026, residential energy storage will undoubtedly be the brightest star in the new energy sector.

This field, once considered a “supporting track,” is now experiencing an explosive growth. Many companies have orders scheduled months in advance, with shortages in battery cell capacity becoming evident early. Countries worldwide are intensively implementing favorable policies, driving the industry into a high-growth cycle and making it one of the most promising core segments in the new energy field.

This “surge” is no accident but a natural result of the resonance among policies, demand, and economic factors. The industry’s performance in the first quarter of 2026 has directly boosted the growth expectations for the entire year.

**   Many companies see explosive orders at the start of the year in residential storage  **

The actions of leading players best reflect industry enthusiasm. Haopeng Technology has recently been “swamped with orders,” securing over 100 million yuan in energy storage orders and becoming a “dark horse” in the residential storage track. Industry data shows that by the first quarter of 2026, there was a significant capacity gap in energy storage batteries, and Haopeng’s production schedule for the second quarter has been locked in early, highlighting the tense supply situation.

Supporting its rapid growth is a clear and firm strategic layout. Haopeng Technology adopts a “residential/industrial-commercial + AIDC” dual-driven model, deeply partnering with top global brands, with business covering Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and India—all high-growth markets. Among these, residential storage is the absolute core growth driver. The company has already established deep cooperation with leading domestic residential storage brands, Fortune 500 related business units, and Southeast Asian local brands, with accumulated orders exceeding 100 million yuan.

More notably, Haopeng Technology continues to expand into emerging markets. In March, the company expects to sign new orders totaling about 120 million yuan with several local top clients in Southeast Asia, further consolidating regional competitive advantages.

Meanwhile, Haopeng Technology launched an 800 million yuan private placement on February 27, with funds to be used for 3 GWh of energy storage batteries and 32 million prismatic steel shell batteries, ensuring ample “ammunition” for sustained future growth. Another leading residential storage company, Penghui Energy, also invested 3.3 billion yuan at the start of the year to expand production, including a 120Ah residential storage battery line.

Besides Haopeng, other companies are also accelerating their strategic positioning. Jinneng Technology’s residential storage business entered trial order stage in the first quarter, with thousands of sets ordered. Its residential storage systems are scheduled for official delivery by the end of March and will gradually increase volume.

In terms of market deployment, Jinneng’s energy storage system products mainly target exports, with Europe as its largest market. Growth potential in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and Africa continues to be released. To further strengthen its existing advantages, Jinneng has outlined a clear development path for residential storage, maintaining a “dual approach” of inverter and system development, closely collaborating with numerous battery partners to steadily advance residential storage projects.

Airo Energy is focusing precisely on the Australian market. On January 26, Airo announced a cooperation agreement with Raystech Group Pty Ltd, appointing it as the exclusive distributor of residential storage in Australia. Raystech commits to a cumulative purchase volume of no less than 1 GWh in 2026. Leveraging Raystech’s local resources, Airo is expected to quickly penetrate the Australian market and enhance product recognition, aligning with its long-term global strategy.

Additionally, Maitian Energy maintained strong growth at the start of 2026. Historically, Maitian has established deep strategic partnerships with top residential battery manufacturers like Penghui Battery, Haichen Storage, Guoxuan High-tech, Hive Energy, and Ruipu LanJun, continuously optimizing product structure and capacity layout, while expanding overseas warehouses. According to Sunwiz’s UK brand ranking, Maitian Energy not only outperformed Tesla in all regions but also captured 37% of the market share. 2026 is expected to be a “harvest year” for Maitian Energy.

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Global Residential Storage Landscape:**

****   Traditional markets stabilize, emerging markets explode**

In fact, the growth momentum of residential energy storage was already emerging in Q4 2025, and the full-scale explosion in 2026 is supported by solid underlying logic.

Currently, countries worldwide have elevated residential storage to “energy security infrastructure,” driven by policy subsidies, improved economics, and demand for grid stability, making industry growth increasingly certain.

Policy synergy is the core driver of industry breakout. Many countries have introduced favorable policies in quick succession, continuously fueling residential storage demand:

Australia is one of the most promising markets, with a residential PV penetration rate of 39%, but only 10% of existing systems have storage, leaving vast market space. In 2025, the Australian government launched a subsidy of AUD 2.3 billion, which was later increased to AUD 7.2 billion in December, strongly stimulating demand for residential storage. It is expected that by 2026, the installed capacity will reach 8 GWh.

The UK is pushing from policy mandates, requiring new buildings to install PV from 2026, along with a GBP 15 billion “Warm Homes Plan” to promote the coordinated development of PV, storage, and heat pumps. This is expected to add 3 million households with PV, corresponding to a 24 GWh increase in residential storage, becoming a new growth engine in Europe.

Ukraine’s demand stems from post-war needs, with severely damaged power infrastructure and frequent blackouts, making residential storage a necessity for residents. It is estimated that Ukraine’s residential storage capacity will exceed 2 GWh in 2026, with potential to reach 34 GWh during post-disaster reconstruction, showing explosive demand.

Other European countries are also increasing support. After the Netherlands canceled net metering, existing PV users are forced to add storage, likely adding over 20 GWh. Hungary launched a 100 billion forint subsidy covering over 80% of investment costs per household, while Poland plans to allocate 500 million zloty to extend the “My Electricity” subsidy, further lowering installation barriers.

Economic improvements continue to turn residential storage from “optional” to “essential.” The surge in energy prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, combined with decreasing costs of “PV + storage” systems, shortens payback periods to 3-5 years, making it a rational choice for households to combat high electricity prices and achieve energy independence.

Demand for grid stability further unlocks market potential. In regions like the US and Australia, unstable power grids and frequent outages caused by natural disasters create rigid demand for emergency backup power, driving continuous growth in residential storage.

From a global perspective, the residential storage track shows a clear pattern: “traditional markets stabilize, emerging markets explode.” Europe remains the main battleground, despite a decline in Germany, the largest market, with countries like the UK, Austria, and the Netherlands achieving significant growth thanks to new policies and dynamic pricing, stabilizing the overall European market.

More notably, the Middle East is becoming a “new blue ocean” for residential storage, breaking the traditional notion that “oil and gas-rich countries don’t need storage.”

On the demand side, unstable grids in Lebanon, Iraq, and other countries make residential storage a necessity. Companies like Deye and others have gained significant market share locally. On the policy side, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are vigorously promoting renewable energy, creating explosive demand for storage. Chinese companies like Sungrow and Sungen have secured related orders. On the supply side, Chinese firms such as Risen, Deye, and Airo are accelerating their layouts to seize market opportunities.

Currently, the Middle East’s residential storage market is still dominated by large-scale systems, but it is in its early stages with huge growth potential—monthly imports of residential storage are about 70-100 million yuan, low base but rapid growth, with gross margins of 20-30%, higher than Europe but much higher than domestic, representing a new profit growth point for Chinese residential storage companies.

The industry outlook is clear, and the market performance in 2025 laid a solid foundation for the “surge” in 2026.

In 2025, driven by strong overseas demand, the global residential lithium battery market entered a new growth cycle. According to GGII’s latest statistics, in 2025, global shipments of residential storage lithium batteries reached 55 GWh, more than doubling from 26 GWh in 2024, with over 111% year-on-year growth.

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Three Major Trends in Residential Storage for 2026

It’s worth noting that since the demand peak began in mid-2025, 100Ah batteries have been in short supply. This directly led to the early capacity gap in Q1 2026, and companies with stable capacity and strong customer channels have further strengthened their competitive advantage.

Looking back at the competitive landscape of the residential lithium battery market in 2025, the core was a contest between specialized capacity and large-scale delivery. Under this logic, leading companies’ market shares and industry positions have been continuously solidified, laying a strong foundation for explosive growth in 2026.

Looking ahead to 2026, based on the foundation laid in 2025, the residential lithium battery market will continue its high-growth trend and show three clear evolution trends:

First, capacity constraints will ease, with a dual-mainline product matrix established. As 100Ah cell capacity expands and 314Ah cells become routine in residential storage, these two mainstream specifications will become standard options to meet different system needs, effectively alleviating previous capacity tensions.

Second, globalized supply chain deployment accelerates, with localized production becoming a key strategy. Facing increasing trade barriers in some overseas markets and strict raw material traceability requirements, top residential battery manufacturers are actively planning or establishing dedicated production lines in Southeast Asia, Europe, and other regions, reducing operational risks and enhancing core competitiveness through localization.

Third, products will evolve toward larger capacities and higher integration, with technological breakthroughs focusing on core pain points. Industry competition is shifting from capacity to technology, with thermal runaway protection for large batteries recognized as a critical technical challenge. Whoever achieves breakthroughs first will gain a competitive edge in the new round of competition.

Overall, the high prosperity of the residential storage market in 2026 is a certainty. Accelerated mass production of large-capacity batteries and the release of new application demands will continue to drive industry growth. Meanwhile, capacity deployment pace and raw material price fluctuations are both core constraints and opportunities, ensuring that the “surge” of residential storage will keep extending.