Historical Breakthrough: Chinese Enterprises Enter the Nomination List for Europe's "Oscar" of Long-Duration Energy Storage for the First Time

Classification：Company News

- Author：ZH Energy

- Release time：Oct-20-2025

【 Summary 】

Recently, the European authoritative award "Energy Storage Awards" announced the 2025 shortlist. Zhonghe Energy Storage successfully made it to the shortlist for "LDES Company of the Year". Among the 7 shortlisted companies worldwide, Zhonghe Energy Storage is the only Chinese enterprise. This marks that China's long-duration energy storage technology has demonstrated strong competitiveness in the international market with its solid strength.

The "Oscar" of Europe's Energy Storage Industry, Focusing on Non-Lithium Battery Technology Breakthroughs

As a top honor in Europe's energy storage industry, this award is initiated by the authoritative organization Solar Media, aiming to recognize the pioneering forces driving energy transition. Its selection criteria cover three dimensions: technological innovation, market influence, and sustainable value. Notably, the "LDES Company of the Year" award is specifically established for non-lithium-ion technologies —— which highly aligns with the strategy in Europe's REPowerEU plan that "200GW of energy storage installed capacity by 2030 needs to be centered on long-duration technologies".

Since the award was established in 2023, Zhonghe Energy Storage has become the first and only Chinese enterprise shortlisted in the "LDES Company of the Year" category. This shortlisting not only breaks the cognitive barrier of the European market towards Asian long-duration energy storage technologies but also becomes an important milestone for Chinese energy storage enterprises to enter the global high-end market.

The 2025 Energy Storage Awards will be grandly held in London, UK, in November, and Zhonghe Energy Storage will attend the award ceremony as a representative of China. Let's look forward to the announcement of the awards and witness more breakthroughs!

Strength Wins Recognition: Technological Core Underpins "China's Only"

This time, standing out from global competitors stems from Zhonghe Energy Storage's groundbreaking achievements in the field of non-lithium long-duration energy storage:

1.Technological Subversion: The cost of the electrolyte for the self-developed iron-sulfur flow battery is reduced by 85% compared with lithium batteries, and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) throughout its life cycle is only half of that of lithium batteries, solving the industry pain points of "high cost and tight resources" in long-duration energy storage;

2.Project Implementation: In early 2025, a megawatt-scale all-vanadium flow battery project was delivered to Europe. The system has a cycle life of over 20,000 times, and its safety design with zero combustion risk fully complies with the strictest EU standards;

3.International Recognition: From 2023 to 2025, Zhonghe Energy Storage has consecutively ranked on the StartUs Insights Global Top 20 Flow Battery Companies list and was once the only Chinese mainland enterprise selected.

As industry experts say, when the installed capacity of new energy exceeds 20%, long-duration energy storage of more than 4 hours becomes a rigid demand, and Zhonghe Energy Storage's technical route is precisely matching the core needs of global energy transition.

Globalization Strategy: Connecting Global Zero-Carbon Process with "Chinese Solutions"

This shortlisting is a strong testament to the implementation of the company's globalization strategy: In the European market, Zhonghe Energy Storage has reached strategic cooperation with local energy giants, jointly building a "local production + localized service" system with European energy giants to reduce supply chain risks. It has also passed multiple EU product certifications to achieve adaptation to distributed energy networks and extreme climate scenarios. From technological research and development in China to project implementation in Europe, Zhonghe Energy Storage is deeply participating in the global zero-carbon process with "Chinese solutions".

Being shortlisted for the 2025 Energy Storage Awards - "LDES Company of the Year" is not only a recognition of Zhonghe Energy Storage but also an international declaration of China's long-duration energy storage technological strength. In the future, the company will continue to focus on iron-sulfur and all-vanadium flow battery technologies, deepen the market layout in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, and let "Made in China, Smart in China" play a more significant role in the global energy transition.