Energy storage project gross profit

According to the report, CATL's energy storage revenue in the first half of 2024 will be 28.825 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3%. From the perspective of gross profit margin, the gross profit margin of the energy storage business was 28.87%, which was the highest among the four main businesses of CATL.

The gross profit margin of CATL's energy storage business in the first half of the year was 28.87%! - EnergyTrend The gross profit margin of CATL's energy storage business in the first half of the year was 28.87%! TrendForce has learned that on July 26, CATL released its financial results for the first half of 2024.

Although academic analysis finds that business models for energy storage are largely unprofitable, annual deployment of storage capacity is globally on the rise (IEA, 2020). One reason may be generous subsidy support and non-financial drivers like a first-mover advantage (Wood Mackenzie, 2019).

Where a profitable application of energy storage requires saving of costs or deferral of investments, direct mechanisms, such as subsidies and rebates, will be effective. For applications dependent on price arbitrage, the existence and access to variable market prices are essential.

Evaluating potential revenue streams from flexible assets, such as energy storage systems, is not simple. Investors need to consider the various value pools available to a storage asset, including wholesale, grid services, and capacity markets, as well as the inherent volatility of the prices of each (see sidebar, “Glossary”).

Building upon both strands of work, we propose to characterize business models of energy storage as the combination of an application of storage with the revenue stream earned from the operation and the market role of the investor.