The recent SNEC 2026 exhibition saw major photovoltaic (PV) giants collectively pushing into the energy storage sector, with Longi Green Energy Technology Co.,Ltd. being no exception. However, unlike many competitors who are pursuing a vertical integration strategy starting from battery cells, Longi has chosen a different path: it will not manufacture battery cells, but instead define its products based on customer needs, entering the market with integrated solar-plus-storage solutions.
Many might assume that Longi's entry into energy storage would begin with cell production, followed by a gradual learning process before launching new products. However, the company's founder and chairman directed a more direct approach. She Haifeng, Vice President of Longi Green Energy Technology Co.,Ltd., stated that their advantage lies in understanding customers and the market from the front lines. At Longi's special SNEC 2026 event, the company's founder and Chief Technology Officer, Li Zhenguo, emphasized that Longi is transitioning from a solar technology company to a green energy technology company, with a core focus on solar-plus-storage over the next five years, aiming to evolve from a component supplier to a provider of integrated energy solutions.
Li Zhenguo believes that to truly make green energy accessible worldwide, systemic issues arising from high PV penetration must be addressed. This accessibility requires stable, economical, and clean power for all regions and users, which cannot be achieved with just a module, an inverter, or a storage cabinet alone, but necessitates a complete technological system and ecosystem capabilities.
The most significant difference in Longi's energy storage approach is its decision not to produce battery cells. In a storage system, cells can account for about 60% of the system cost, representing the highest-value component. Companies like Trina Storage, BYD, and CATL have extended from cell manufacturing to system integration, making vertical integration appear to be the industry norm. So why does Longi take the opposite path?
She Haifeng explains that cells actually represent only 30% to 40% of the value in a terminal energy storage asset. The remaining value is distributed across system integration, power electronics, software control, and operation and maintenance services. More importantly, the core competency of cell manufacturers lies in materials and manufacturing, while end customers require integrated products and scenario-based solutions—areas that are difficult for cell-focused companies to cover in depth.
She Haifeng likened a cell company attempting system integration to an engine manufacturer trying to build a complete vehicle, suggesting it lacks the deep customer understanding required. Each company has its own DNA and strategic focus; cell manufacturers concentrate their resources on perfecting the cell. Without deep customer insight, it is challenging to create truly competitive integrated products for the end market.
Niu Yanyan, President of Longi's Distributed Business in China, added that future scenarios will not focus on installing PV, selling electricity, or adding storage in isolation. Instead, the starting point will be the user's electricity consumption scale and load, considering local policies and electricity prices to provide the optimal integrated solution for the user.
Longi's strategy leverages its accumulated customer insights and market reach from the PV sector, entering from the point closest to the customer to inversely define its energy storage products. She Haifeng summarized this logic as combining deep customer understanding with technology to define excellent products. He also clarified that Longi will not enter the manufacturing of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells in this generation of technology, as there are already many excellent cell suppliers in the market. According to Longi's approach, defining the product and cooperating with strategic partners is sufficient.
The core concept of Longi's energy storage strategy is "solar-plus-storage integration," but this is not simply bundling PV modules with storage systems for sale. Li Zhenguo noted that over the past two decades, the PV industry has solved a core problem: making solar power generation sufficiently economical and cheap. Today, in most parts of the world, PV has become the most economical source of electricity. However, as the proportion of PV generation increases, new challenges arise regarding grid stability, power dispatchability, and storage coordination. Cheap electricity has limited value if it cannot be stably fed into the grid or used flexibly. This is not merely a technical detail but a hurdle that must be overcome in the energy transition.
She Haifeng further elaborated that Longi's understanding of solar-storage integration operates on two levels. The first is efficiency: the synergistic efficiency of solar and storage is not a simple sum of their individual efficiencies but an integrated efficiency that requires achieving higher overall performance while enhancing coordination, safety, and reliability. The second is the customer interface: creating a unified platform interface for customers, rather than having them deal with separate PV and storage systems. He pointed out that optimizing solar-storage synergy and matching DC and AC between them are complex technical challenges.
In terms of R&D investment, Longi is significantly increasing resource allocation in the energy storage field, particularly in areas like Power Conversion Systems (PCS) and software control. She Haifeng revealed that Longi is developing a digital platform called "Light OS," designed to provide customers with end-to-end services from demand matching and solution generation to asset management.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a major theme at this year's SNEC, including in the energy storage sector. She Haifeng believes AI adds value to the storage business in two ways: empowering the business itself and creating new demand. For business empowerment, Longi's "Light OS" platform applies AI across the entire process, from customer demand matching and solution generation to post-asset formation management. The specific form of AI application, whether as an Agent or another form, is less important than achieving a closed-loop customer experience.
Regarding demand growth, there is a natural synergy between energy storage and AI. The explosive growth of AI Data Centers (AIDC) is creating significant new demand for energy storage. The storage demand in AIDC scenarios has become an independent source of demand, starting from 20% and rapidly increasing. She Haifeng stated that Longi's product planning already considers AIDC as a key focus scenario.
In terms of market positioning, Longi's energy storage business focuses on three main scenarios: large-scale storage, commercial & industrial storage, and microgrids. She Haifeng candidly admitted that other scenarios are temporarily being strategically deprioritized, as Longi recognizes different competitive landscapes and currently has limited resources to play all fields. However, for the three key scenarios, there are clear paths to sequentially launch products.
For overseas markets, Longi is leveraging its existing PV channel advantages to promote coordinated deployment. Markets like Europe, North America, and Australia already have relatively complete solution and service teams, with products also being developed specifically for the US market. She Haifeng indicated that market layout progress is largely in line with expectations.
Regarding the impact of rising lithium carbonate prices on the energy storage industry, She Haifeng believes this is not a major pain point for Longi. Having entered the storage sector later, the company does not carry the burden of historical orders. He noted that Longi has experienced multiple cycles in the PV industry, accumulating rich supply chain management experience. The company has made ample preparations in supply chain locking, commodity hedging, and customer collaboration, so short-term price fluctuations are not a significant concern.
Transitioning from photovoltaics to energy storage, and from components to solutions, Longi is replicating its growth paradigm of "long-termism + technological breakthroughs." The difference this time is that the starting point is not silicon wafers, but the needs of energy storage customers.
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