The hundred billion dollar race track has begun! Chinese energy storage companies lead Australia's epic bidding for 12GWh ultra long time energy storage

Recently, New South Wales in Australia has placed a massive new energy procurement order, creating the largest energy infrastructure bidding project in Australian history. This multi billion dollar energy storage and new energy project has attracted global energy storage giants to compete, and with the comprehensive advantages of technology, cost, and delivery, Chinese energy storage companies have already laid out and seized the opportunity in advance, becoming the most competitive main force in this bidding.

On May 20th, New South Wales (NSW) in Australia officially announced a new round of heavyweight energy bidding, which includes a 2.5GW renewable energy generation project and a 12GWh long-term energy storage supporting scale. This bidding is a key layout in Australia's energy transition process, which will significantly promote the progress of local clean energy construction, and is expected to help New South Wales achieve 90% of the 2030 renewable energy development target. At the same time, it will comprehensively enhance the energy storage capacity of the eastern Australian power grid, opening up a highly potential incremental market for global new energy enterprises.

2.5GW+12GWh Super Tender Landing, Australian Energy Storage Enters a New Stage of Long Term Development

This bidding is fully executed by AusEnergy Service Limited (ASL), an independent organization in New South Wales, and has received full support from the local energy department. The core goal is to accelerate the transformation of regional energy structure and build a solid foundation for the safe and stable operation of the power grid. The entire bidding process adopts technology neutral evaluation rules, not limited to a single technical route, with a focus on assessing the economic benefits of the project and the comprehensive service value of the power grid. It is fair and open to all types of new energy enterprises around the world to participate.

This bidding is divided into two core sections, with clear division of labor and clear positioning. The eighth round of bidding focuses on the clean energy generation end, soliciting 2.5GW wind and photovoltaic projects from the whole society. After completion, it can cover nearly one-third of the household electricity demand in New South Wales, effectively alleviating the regional electricity gap. This batch of projects supports the integrated package application of "wind and solar power generation+energy storage", with a mandatory requirement that the supporting energy storage time should not be less than 4 hours. According to the plan, the winning bidder list will be announced by the end of 2026, and all projects must be connected to the grid and put into operation before the end of 2029.

The ninth round of bidding focuses on the long-term energy storage track, with a bidding scale of 12GWh of energy storage, which is 50% higher than the original energy storage development target of New South Wales for 2030-2034, making it highly valuable. This round of bidding explicitly requires that the duration of the energy storage system should not be less than 8 hours, and priority should be given to selecting high-quality projects that can enhance the strength of the power grid and ensure its safety. In the 8-12 hour long-term energy storage scenario, lithium-ion batteries have become the optimal adaptation solution for this round of bidding due to their mature technology and ultimate cost advantages, with particularly prominent competitive advantages.

In fact, this super tender is not an isolated case, but a microcosm of the rapid expansion of Australia's national energy storage industry. As early as February 2026, the last round of long-term energy storage bidding in New South Wales had already landed six high-quality projects with a total scale of 1.17GW/12GWh, all of which used lithium battery energy storage technology, fully confirming the mainstream position of lithium batteries in the Australian energy storage market.

Looking at the current energy storage market in Australia, there are three distinct development trends overall. Firstly, the policy driving force is strong, with core states such as New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia continuously raising their renewable energy and energy storage construction targets, gradually forming an energy storage industry cluster pattern that links the east, south, and west. Secondly, energy storage applications are moving towards long-term use, with industry demand upgrading from short-term 2-4 hour storage to long-term storage of 8 hours or more. The market model is also shifting from a single photovoltaic supporting energy storage to a new pattern of coordinated development of independent energy storage and integrated photovoltaic storage projects. Thirdly, the market competition is fully internationalized, relying on fair market-oriented bidding rules, leading energy companies from China, Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea compete together, opening up a global competition in the high-end energy storage track.

Order intensive landing in 2026! Chinese energy storage companies deeply cultivate the Australian market

Relying on its strong comprehensive strength, the domestic energy storage leader has continued to deeply cultivate the Australian market since 2026, and has won multiple GWh level heavyweight orders intensively. Its business covers all application scenarios such as grid side, industrial and commercial, household, and large-scale industrial off grid, and has become the core cooperative force for Australia's energy transformation.

In the field of integrated photovoltaic energy storage, Trina Solar has performed outstandingly. In May of this year, the company successfully won the bid for the Killawarra Integrated Energy Project in Western Australia. The project plans to combine 350MW of photovoltaic with 2.1GWh of energy storage, making it the only photovoltaic storage integrated project of the same type selected in the CIS strategic tender of the Australian federal government. Prior to this, Trina Solar had already reached a cooperation agreement with Pacific Green, an Australian company, to secure a cumulative 5GWh energy storage equipment supply order from 2026 to 2028, and its market layout continued to deepen.

BYD has won core orders in the industrial off grid energy storage track. In April of this year, the company successfully obtained the exclusive energy storage supply cooperation qualification from Australian mining giant Fortescue. Fortescue is building a globally leading industrial off grid green power project in the Pilbara region, with a planned 4-5GWh energy storage system. BYD will provide a complete energy storage solution for the project, completely replacing the traditional diesel power generation mode and helping the industrial sector achieve zero carbon transformation. It is worth noting that this super project has formed a full industry chain Chinese solution of Longi Green Energy Photovoltaic+Vision Energy Wind Power+BYD Energy Storage, demonstrating the global competitiveness of China's new energy full chain.

Global energy storage leader CATL is taking a localized and deep cultivation route. The Western Australian Collie energy storage power station (500MW/2.4GWh), which is supplied by it, was officially put into operation in February this year and is currently the largest single energy storage project that has landed in Australia. On this basis, in April, CATL once again partnered with Australian local service provider Zinfra to establish a localized service system that integrates equipment delivery and operation and maintenance services, deeply binding to the local Australian market and laying a solid foundation for long-term development.

In addition, a group of Chinese energy storage companies such as Sunac Power, Sige New Energy, Nandu Power, and Airo Energy have also made breakthroughs and continued to make efforts in the Australian segmented track, covering multiple fields such as equipment supply, project development, and technical services, building a cluster advantage for the Chinese energy storage army.

It is reported that the results of the super energy tender in New South Wales will be officially announced by the end of 2026. With technological maturity, cost control, fast delivery capability, and complete industrial chain support, Chinese energy storage companies are likely to continue to win large orders, further consolidating their core position in the high-end energy storage market in Australia and continuously exporting China's new energy power.