Abstract: Portable energy storage has become a red ocean when it enters the blue ocean.
This may be the true portrayal of current portable energy storage. At a battery industry expo in Guangzhou, it was noticed after analysis that there are many companies entering the bureau for portable energy storage. However, most of their products are “replicating” Huabao’s portable energy storage products.
A portable energy storage power supply referred to as an “outdoor power supply”, is a small energy storage device that replaces traditional small fuel generators with built-in lithium-ion batteries. The main use scenarios include outdoor travel, emergency disaster relief, medical rescue, outdoor operations, etc.
With the increase in outdoor heat and emergency demand, the blue ocean trend of portable energy storage is obvious. According to the survey data, the global shipment of portable energy storage products will reach 2.9 million units in 2021. In the next four years, the market still has a lot of room for growth. By 2025, the global shipment of portable energy storage products is expected to reach 19 million units.
There is an interesting phenomenon: the need to upgrade the outdoor power supply in the European and American markets and the rigid demand for the outdoor power supply in the African power shortage market. This corresponds to the market situation that has appeared in the telecom mobile phone market. It is like: on the one hand, the high-end market has high requirements for intelligent functions of mobile phones;
With the arrival of the huge blue ocean, the battle for portable energy storage in the Red Ocean may be able to replicate the development path of telecom giants Apple, Huawei, and the “King of Africa” Transsion.
Apple and Huawei mainly focus on mid-to-high-end markets such as China, Europe, and the United States; while Transsion has become an unshakable “King of Africa” due to its rapid market growth capability and absolute cost-effectiveness.
Although business is interoperable, whether portable energy storage can successfully replicate the development path of the mobile phone telecommunications market still requires joint efforts of the industry and business opportunities.
The outdoor + emergency portable energy storage “blue ocean” trend is obvious. As a member of the consumer electronics army, the development of portable energy storage has been particularly rapid in the past two years, which is evident from the recent IPO of Huabao New Energy. According to its prospectus, the sales of Huabao New Energy’s portable energy storage products will reach 1.835 billion yuan in 2021, compared with 250 million yuan in 2019, a nearly 10-fold increase in sales.
The huge market demand for portable energy storage mainly comes from the global popularity of outdoor activities and the increasingly important emergency reserves. The popularity of outdoor culture has made Europe and the United States the most traditional sales countries for portable energy storage. In the past two years, various outdoor booms emerging in China have driven the demand for portable energy storage. Outdoor sports fever at home and abroad will bring a huge market for outdoor power.
Secondly, in disaster-prone and underdeveloped areas in areas, due to unstable power supply, the demand for backup and emergency power sources is also an important market for portable energy storage in the future.
Low technical barriers, blue ocean market triggers “Red Ocean War”.
Capacity and cost performance are the most important factors for consumers to purchase portable energy storage devices. At present, the capacity is mainly divided into three grades: 100-500Wh, 500-1000Wh, and above 1000Wh, and the market share accounts for about 50%, 40%, and 10% respectively, of which 500-1000Wh grows rapidly.
Products with different capacities correspond to different types of needs. Bull’s 300Wh capacity product weighs about 3.82kg, can charge the computer 2.6 times, and is suitable for single-person backpacking trips completed in one day. Dianxiao Er 600Wh capacity product weighs 6.5kg, can charge the computer 4.5 times, and has a matching solar charging board, which is more suitable for driving and camping on weekends.
If the family travels and uses multiple electrical appliances such as refrigerators, induction cookers, and speakers at the same time, products of more than 1000Wh are required. For household emergency needs, it is usually more suitable for storing large-capacity products of more than 1000Wh. High-end products with large capacity have higher requirements for product safety and battery thermal management.
In terms of the types of enterprises entering the portable energy storage power supply industry, they mainly include mobile power supply enterprises, digital accessories enterprises, battery cell enterprises, and enterprises that previously did household energy storage or power system energy storage integration.
Specifically, Huabao New Energy, as the first enterprise to enter the field of portable energy storage power supply, occupies more than 20% of the global market share, and Zhenghao Technology accounts for about 10%. Followed by Goal Zero, Delan Minghai and Anker Innovation, the market share of portable energy storage power supply was 9.5%, 7%, and 2.6% respectively.
However, in addition to the competition for the head, the remaining about 50% of the portable energy storage power supply is occupied by a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises. There are especially many tail enterprises in the entire industry, and the competition is relatively fierce.
Can we reproduce the road of Huawei and Transsion?
The portable “blue ocean” is based on the judgment that the portable energy storage market is vast. As for portable energy storage, it has become a red sea, which refers to the fierce competition.
The portable energy storage track has formed a certain development pattern. For example, Huabao, Zhenghao, goal zero, and Delan Minghai have emerged as leading players with obvious advantages, occupying a large share of the mainstream market in the portable market. Secondly, emerging players are emerging one after another, and they are just in the ascendant.
Can the red and blue ocean battle for portable energy storage replicate the development path of telecom giants Apple, Huawei, and the “King of Africa” Transsion? According to industry analysts, at this stage, the development path of Huawei and Transsion can be replicated. This is still just an opinion.
The current red ocean of portable energy storage is due to the relatively low entry threshold for mainstream energy storage products below 500Wh and the general quality requirements for lithium batteries, so the market competition is fierce and the market concentration is low.
With the continuous participation of giants such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Bull, there are still large variables in the market competition pattern of the portable energy storage market in the future. Coupled with the continuous maturity of industry standards, companies with technological advantages and channel advantages will eventually eliminate low-end products. For the backward OEM small workshop enterprises, the overall market competition environment of the industry is constantly optimized.
Optimistically, “Huawei” and “Transsion” of portable energy storage may be born as soon as possible, but this is still “Schrödinger’s cat”. At present, the most important thing for the industry is to work together to get rid of vicious competition as soon as possible.