How big is the big bet! Another category is booming

From a niche track to a mainstream track, "large power banks" are becoming popular!

When it comes to portable energy storage, many people outside the industry would define it as a "large power bank." The first application scenario that comes to mind is disaster relief. In areas prone to disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, fires, blizzards, and wars, portable energy storage and photovoltaic products can solve power shortages caused by disasters, power outages, and emergency rescue.

This seems to be a very niche track. However, as activities such as picnics and camping become more popular, the portable energy storage market continues to grow, and the niche track is gradually growing into a mainstream track.

China's consumer electronics manufacturing industry has complete upstream and downstream supporting facilities, accounting for more than 90% of production and shipments. Related players have grown rapidly and become internationally renowned companies. DeLan Minghai, Zhenghao EcoFlow, Anker Innovations, Zendure Zhengtuo, Jackery Dianxiaoer, Bluetti and others have successively launched outdoor power products, and Anker Innovations has bet heavily on this track. Under the gold rush of portable energy storage, capital is investing continuously.

Zhenghao has received 6 rounds of financing in 3 years! Its market share surpasses Anker

In the field of portable energy storage, Zhenghao is an existence that cannot be ignored. Not only has it been able to break through the siege of a number of well-known manufacturers, but it has also surpassed the latecomers and obtained 6 rounds of financing in 3 years.

In 2014, when Wang Lei, the founder of EcoFlow, was still working in DJI's battery R&D department, he had already keenly captured the business opportunities in the portable energy storage market. In 2017, Wang Lei resigned from DJI and officially founded Shenzhen EcoFlow Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (EcoFlow), focusing on the R&D and sales of portable energy storage.

Like many cross-border companies, Zhenghao's entrepreneurial journey was not smooth at the beginning, and it did not become popular overseas until 2019. It is understood that a product developed by the company directly hits the pain points of users, solves the problem of slow charging of outdoor energy storage products, and quickly became popular with advantages such as faster charging speed.

Portable energy storage can be applied in many scenarios. Zhenghao has deeply explored the different needs of users and launched multiple energy storage ecological products such as outdoor power supplies, home energy storage systems, outdoor mobile air conditioners, off-grid power supply systems, etc. , and gradually established a rich product matrix, serving more than 3 million users worldwide.

According to multiple media reports, Zhenghao's revenue increased more than 10 times in 2019; in 2021, its revenue was close to 1.6 billion yuan; in 2022, its revenue was close to 1 billion US dollars, which was another year-on-year surge. In the first half of 2023, Zhenghao's revenue has exceeded 3 billion yuan, with a market share of 35%, ranking first. The second and fifth places are Huabao New Energy (8%), Delan Minghai (8%), Goal Zero (5%) and Anker Innovations (3%). It can be found that Zhenghao's market share far exceeds the sum of the market shares of the second to fifth places, and even surpasses Anker, which ranks fifth.

Back in 2020, the ranking of shipments of convenient energy storage brands was not the same. Data from the China Chemical and Physical Power Sources Industry Association showed that at that time Huabao New Energy ranked first in the world in both shipments and revenue, with a shipment share of 16.6%; the second-ranked Zhenghao had a shipment share of about 6%, which was still a big gap compared with Huabao New Energy. In just a few years, Zhenghao took the TOP1 throne and became a global giant.

Data shows that Zhenghao has been on the "Google x Kantar BrandZ China Global Brands 2024" list for three consecutive times, and has been on the "2024 Hurun China Top 100 New Energy Potential Enterprises List", "2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List" and other well-known lists.

Zhenghao's online sales channels include Amazon, independent websites, etc. According to Amazon's global store opening report, Zhenghao has developed very strongly in Europe in recent years. The sales results in Europe during the annual Member Day, Black Friday and other major promotions have far exceeded expectations. In the future, emerging European sites will be the focus of Zhenghao's global strategic development.

It is understood that during Amazon Prime Day 2022, Zhenghao successfully won the first place in European sales. At the same time, Zhenghao's development in the US market is also very rapid, with monthly sales reaching 6 million US dollars.

Capital discovered Zhenghao's development potential early and invested in it many times. In 2018, the second year of Zhenghao's establishment, it has successively completed angel round financing, 30 million yuan Pre-A round financing and 4 million US dollars A round financing. In 2019, Zhenghao completed tens of millions of yuan in A+ round financing. In 2021, it won two more rounds of financing, namely strategic financing and a total of more than 100 million US dollars in B round financing. After 6 rounds of financing, Zhenghao's valuation is 1 billion US dollars, successfully joining the ranks of "unicorns".

Anker and many other big sellers are betting big on portable energy storage, which continues to be hot

In addition to Zhenghao, there are many other outstanding players in the field of portable energy storage. Companies such as CATL, Bull, UGREEN, Anker Innovations, Baseus, Aoji, Pisen, and Guangzhou Jianghai have successively laid out their plans.

Founded in the same year as Zhenghao, Guangzhou Jianghai Technology Co., Ltd. has completed six rounds of financing, with the latest A+ round of financing occurring on September 11, 2024. Its founding team entered the high-end consumer technology overseas market as early as 2013, with 10 years of user insight, market discovery, and R&D accumulation, and rich industry resources. This has laid a good foundation for the Zendure brand to take off overseas.

It is understood that Zendure was the first in the industry to propose the concept of plug-and-play home appliance energy storage and energy management system. It conducted in-depth research on the niche track of European balcony energy storage and launched a balcony energy storage system product that sold well in Europe, ranking first in sales.

As a leader in the field of portable energy storage, Delan Minghai has also chosen to go public and is currently in the listing guidance period. It is one of the typical representatives of traditional OEMs that have made efforts to layout cross-border e-commerce. It was officially established in 2013, and only started to create its own brand BLUETTI (hereinafter referred to as BLUETTI) in 2019, and released its first product the following year. On the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, an outdoor power supply product won US$6.7 million in funding in 2 months, setting a new record for crowdfunding of energy storage products.

BLUETTI has opened stores on cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Lazada. Public data shows that one year after its launch on Amazon, BLUETTI's revenue successfully exceeded 100 million yuan. Online channels have entered the fast lane of development, and Delan Minghai's sales have been rising year by year: in 2022, the sales of portable energy storage products exceeded 2 billion yuan, and it is expected to reach 5 billion yuan in 2023.

Anker Innovations, a global consumer electronics brand, is betting heavily on the portable energy storage market and is taking frequent actions.

Some time ago, Anker released important news that it plans to issue convertible bonds to raise no more than 1.105 billion yuan, and invest 201 million yuan of the raised funds in the research and development and industrialization projects of portable and household energy storage products.

Anker previously stated that one of its main tasks in 2024 is to deepen key technological breakthroughs and product innovations in consumer electronics fields such as portable energy storage, household energy storage, and smart innovation, and strive to form a differentiated competitive advantage in the market.

Behind the heavy bets of Anker and other big sellers, the portable energy storage track continues to be hot. Whether it is emergency preparedness, outdoor photography, film and television sets, camping life, or home life, portable energy storage is indispensable. In particular, the growing demand for easy-to-install, economical and affordable green energy products in European and American families has given rise to multi-scenario solar storage and charging system products such as rooftops, courtyards, balconies, and carports.

Chinese portable energy storage brands are making efforts in overseas markets and continue to occupy the minds of overseas consumers. In the Top 20 list of portable energy storage power supply sales on Amazon US in 2023, Chinese brands have occupied half of the market.

Portable energy storage