Canadian Solar Inc. and its majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar have announced the re-branding of CSI Solar’s utility-scale battery energy storage subsidiary and platform. The subsidiary, formerly known as CSI Energy Storage, will now operate as e-STORAGE and will function as a distinct business unit under CSI Solar.
The re-branding of e-STORAGE will accelerate Canadian Solar’s growth in the global energy storage market. With this move, the company aims to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities in the energy storage sector.
As of July 2023, e-STORAGE has a total pipeline of nearly 26 GWh of energy storage projects. This represents a substantial increase from $1 billion in contracted revenues in January 2023 to over $1.7 billion in contracted revenues. The strong growth in contracted revenues provides e-STORAGE with significant visibility and growth prospects over the coming years.
The foundation of the e-STORAGE platform is SolBank, a proprietary lithium-iron phosphate chemistry-based battery specifically designed for utility-scale applications. This self-manufactured battery enables e-STORAGE to offer comprehensive, ready-to-use battery storage solutions to its customers. The company has already deployed over 2.7 GWh of battery energy storage solutions across several countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and China. With two advanced and fully automated manufacturing facilities, e-STORAGE is at the forefront of the industry. It anticipates expanding its annual production capacity to 10 GWh, reinforcing its ability to deliver high-quality and scalable energy storage solutions.
The global energy storage market is projected to experience unprecedented 15-fold growth by the year 2030. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, approximately 1,100 GWh of new energy storage capacity is expected to be added worldwide between 2022 and 2030.
Canadian Solar, being one of the most reliable and trustworthy companies in the solar and renewable energy industry, is in a favorable position to meet the increasing needs of its customers. Speaking about the development, Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, commented, “We are thrilled to launch e-STORAGE and accelerate the growth of our integrated utility-scale battery energy storage business. Battery energy storage continues to grow in importance and value for our customers as they continue to deploy renewable energy and help to further decarbonize power grids. By creating a distinct e-STORAGE brand for our utility-scale turnkey battery storage business, we are further demonstrating that our battery energy storage business has risen to equal significance of long-standing solar business.”
