At the 2025 SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation &Energy Storage Technology and Equipment Conference &Exhibition in Shanghai, German and other European companies are showing great interest in cooperation with Chinese partners in areas such as procurement and joint research and development (R&D).
The exhibition, which runs through Friday, showcases cutting-edge innovation across the entire aspect of the photovoltaic and energy storage industrial chain, with the participation of more than 500,000 professionals from more than 90 countries and regions, according to official data.
At the event, a German energy storage delegation, organized by the China committee of the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW), is actively negotiating with leading Chinese storage manufacturers on potential deals, according to the committee, which noted that there are high hopes among Chinese and European energy storage firms for potential cooperation.
Su Yinhu, chairman of the China committee of BVMW, said that this is the committee's first foray into organizing German companies for commercial activity in China.
"The three participating German energy storage companies we bring to China have clear procurement intentions and are already involved in technical research with Chinese counterparts and some are close to commercial negotiations," Su told the Global Times on Thursday.
Given that Germany's total energy storage market value is expected to exceed 10 billion euros ($11.52 billion), the committee plans to expand such collaborative efforts, diversifying the scope of procurement beyond energy storage equipment, Su said.
Wang Wenhai, procurement director of Faveos Energy Solutions, told the Global Times on Thursday that he was impressed by Chinese enterprises' capabilities in large-scale manufacturing, resource integration, and cost control.
Chinese enterprises excel in large-scale manufacturing and resource integration capabilities. Particularly in terms of material cost control, through full-process automated production lines, their unit capacity investment costs are significantly lower than those of European and American enterprises, endowing them with strong market competitiveness in Europe, Wang said.
Moreover, some Chinese enterprises have established extensive sales and service networks in Europe, with hundreds of professionals. This robust network provides solid technical and after-sales service guarantees for international cooperation, ensuring long-term and stable partnerships, Wang added.
Christoph Schröder, CTO of H2GEMINI Technologies, said that Europe has extensive expertise in clean technology R&D, excelling in areas such as carbon capture and high-end wind turbine design. However, it lacks sufficient industrialization capabilities. In contrast, China boasts remarkable advantages in large-scale manufacturing and process optimization, characterized by high production capacity and low costs, he noted.
China and Europe can achieve synergistic effects through cooperation. For example, the model of joint R&D by China and Europe and Chinese manufacturing can bring mutual benefits to both sides, Schröder said in a Chinese press release shared with the Global Times.
Multinationals like Schneider Electric are also deepening their footprint in China's renewable energy sector.
"The development of China's new-energy industry is a global contribution and opportunity. We remain committed to electrification and digitalization innovation, accelerating the practical application of innovative technologies. This enables us to more quickly and effectively meet China's growing and evolving market demands, and support the high-quality and global development of China's new-energy industry," Wei Sizhe, senior vice president and head of low voltage energy management business China at Schneider Electric, told the Global Times in a statement.
China is making great strides in the new-energy industry. Newly installed capacity of renewable energy in 2024 accounted for 86 percent of China's total newly installed power capacity, while the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy made up a record high of 56 percent of the nation's total, according to the latest data from the National Energy Administration (NEA).
China's renewable energy sector added new installed capacity of 373 million kilowatts in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 23 percent, the NEA data showed.
(Source: Global Times)