# Zeng Yuqun: Energy Storage Enters New Infrastructure Era as Global Shipments Rise 71%

Zeng Yuqun, Chairman and CEO of CATL, told the 2026 World Energy Storage Conference that energy storage is moving from scale expansion to long-term reliability, as SNE Research data showed first-half global energy storage battery shipments rose 71% year on year\.

By China EV Signal
Published: 2026-10-15T13:04:15.847Z
Updated: 2026-10-15T13:04:15.848Z
Canonical article: https://chinaevsignal.com/news/zeng-yuqun-energy-storage-new-infrastructure-era-global-shipments-rise-71

## Key takeaways

- CATL Chairman and CEO Zeng Yuqun said the energy storage industry is entering a new infrastructure era defined by long-term reliability\.
- SNE Research data cited at the conference showed global energy storage battery shipments rose 71% year on year in the first half, with markets outside China accounting for more than half for the first time\.
- CATL has delivered more than 3,000 energy storage projects worldwide and accumulated over 500 billion battery research and test data records\.

## Energy storage enters new infrastructure era

Zeng Yuqun, Chairman and CEO of CATL, said the energy storage industry is moving from a phase of scale expansion into a new infrastructure era defined by long-term reliability, in a speech at the 2026 World Energy Storage Conference\.

Citing SNE Research data, Zeng said global energy storage battery shipments grew 71% year on year in the first half, with markets outside China accounting for more than half of shipments for the first time\.

CATL has delivered more than 3,000 energy storage projects worldwide and accumulated more than 500 billion battery research and test data records, according to the speech\.

## South Africa and Australia projects

CATL supported South Africa's Hydra project with full-station delivery\. Zeng described it as Africa's largest hybrid renewable energy project, meeting the annual electricity needs of 200,000 households\.

CATL's delivered Supernode project in Australia, the country's largest energy storage project, has also been put into operation and will supply clean electricity for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, Zeng said\.

## Xiamen research institute and global projects

The Xiamen Empirical Energy Storage Technology Research Institute was officially launched in May, with a planned total investment of 3 billion yuan\.

The institute has conducted systematic empirical testing on 32 projects worldwide, covering a total power station capacity of more than 16GWh\.

## Company coverage

- [CATL news](https://chinaevsignal.com/manufacturers/catl)

## Original publisher

宁德时代. Published: 2026-10-15T04:19:24.000Z