Chile’s energy storage sector experiences another surge: A 2.6 GWh mega-project has been secured, marking the global energy storage industry’s entry into a period of rapid growth

Recently, Chile’s energy storage market has witnessed two significant developments, further confirming that the industry is experiencing an unprecedented growth cycle.

On March 24, French energy developer Engie officially commissioned a 46 MW/230 MWh battery storage project in Chile’s Atacama region, with an investment of approximately $64 million. The facility is co-located with a 53 MW solar power plant. Just two days later, Spanish independent power producer Grenergy announced an order for a 2.6 GWh battery storage system from BYD to support the Central Oasis Solar + Storage Project.

These two developments not only epitomize the rapid growth of Chile’s energy storage market, but also reflect how the global energy storage industry is entering an unprecedented phase of significant advancement.

I. Chile: A Hotspot for Energy Storage Deployment

As the leader in Latin America’s energy storage market, Chile faces an urgent need for energy storage deployment. Latest data show that renewable energy now accounts for 69% of the country’s total power generation capacity, with projections indicating it will exceed 70% by early 2026. According to the Chilean Ministry of Energy, the nation has met its 2030 target of installing 2 GW of battery energy storage four years ahead of schedule.

However, the primary driver behind the urgent demand for energy storage lies in the insufficient grid integration capacity. By 2025, Chile is projected to face curtailment volumes of up to 6 TWh, with renewable energy loss rates reaching as high as 50% in some regions—a situation that not only results in significant resource waste but also compels grid operators to urgently seek energy storage solutions. In this context, battery energy storage systems have emerged as critical infrastructure for addressing power curtailment challenges.

II. Project Analysis: Technical Approach and Scale Breakthrough

Grenergy procured a 2.6 GWh energy storage system from BYD, comprising 468 units of the BYD MC Cube-T liquid-cooled battery systems equipped with BYD’s proprietary blade batteries for energy storage applications. Each unit offers flexible configuration with a nominal capacity ranging from 5 MWh to 6.4 MWh. The core advantages of this system are:

• CTS Super Integration Technology: Directly integrates battery cells into the system, reducing component count by approximately 36% and achieving a space utilization rate of 98%.
• Modular Compartment Design:Achieves physical isolation and coordinated operation of the three core systems—battery, electrical, and liquid cooling—thereby enhancing system safety and reliability.

The Central Oasis Solar + Energy Storage Project is designed as a 1.1 GW solar power farm paired with a 4 GWh energy storage system, with full completion and commissioning expected by 2027. Previously, Grenergy signed a 3.5 GWh supply agreement with BYD in May 2025 for Phase VI of the Oasis de Atacama Solar + Energy Storage Project, which will ultimately establish a 2 GW solar power farm and a 11 GWh battery storage system in the Atacama Desert. The successive implementation of these projects marks a new phase of large-scale integrated solar-storage development in Latin America.

Meanwhile, Engie’s Los Loros project employs lithium iron phosphate battery technology, equipped with 63 battery energy storage units, and is connected to the solar farm’s substation for grid integration. To date, Engie has developed several battery energy storage projects in Chile, including a solar-plus-storage system with a five-hour duration.

III. The Global Energy Storage Industry Enters a Period of Rapid Growth

The booming Chilean market is far from an isolated case. In 2025, the global energy storage market saw its annual newly commissioned installed capacity for power storage projects exceed 100 GW for the first time, reaching 123.9 GW—a year-on-year increase of 49.3%. Among this, newly installed capacity for advanced energy storage technologies reached 113.3 GW, up 52.9% year-on-year. Global energy storage battery shipments hit 436 GWh in 2024, marking an 81% year-on-year growth, and are projected to rise further to 637 GWh in 2025.

Entering 2026, global demand for energy storage continued to accelerate. In the first quarter of 2026, global shipments of energy storage batteries reached 216 GWh, representing a year-on-year increase of 117%, with China’s shipments reaching 209 GWh—a rise of 115% year-on-year—and its share in the global market further rising to 96.76%. Overseas market demand remained strong; in the first quarter of 2026 alone, Chinese companies secured 124 overseas energy storage orders totaling approximately 104.63 GWh in capacity.

In this global energy storage wave, China-based enterprises are playing an increasingly vital role. Leading companies such as CATL, BYD, and Sungrow continue to strengthen their presence in core markets across Europe, Australia, Africa, North America, and South America. From Chilean deserts to Middle Eastern oil fields, from European power grids to African microgrids, China’s energy storage products are earning the trust of global customers with their outstanding performance and reliable quality.

Prospects

As the share of renewable energy in global power generation continues to rise, energy storage—serving as critical infrastructure for smoothing fluctuations and enhancing grid integration—has demonstrated growing strategic importance. A combination of factors including high gas prices in Europe, increased subsidies in Australia, urgent power supply demands in emerging markets, explosive growth in data center computing power, and accelerated grid investment is propelling the industry into a new phase driven by multiple catalysts. Over the next decade, the global energy storage market is poised for sustained high growth, offering unprecedented development opportunities for every enterprise across the industry chain.

MOPOWER ENERGY will ride the wave of global energy storage industry advancements, delivering premium products and services to empower clients worldwide in their energy transition, collectively advancing toward a clean and low-carbon energy future.