CATL (300750.SZ) Key takeaways from the WESC: Energy storage enters its infrastructure era

We attended the World Energy Storage Conference (WESC) in Ningde on 14-16 October 2026. Our high-level takeaway is that energy storage is being repositioned from a supporting asset for renewable integration to critical infrastructure for the modern power system. Globally, this transition is still at an early stage: the need for flexibility is increasingly visible, but in many markets the revenue models, market mechanisms and technical standards required to support bankable projects have yet to mature. Global ESS demand is broadening, with overseas markets overtaking China in 1H26, and the demand envelope is expanding through Storage+ use cases including zero-carbon factories, industrial microgrids, transport electrification and AI data centers. Sodium-ion looks more like a targeted complement to LFP than a broad replacement. Under China's 15th Five-Year Plan, storage is shifting from scale-led deployment toward higher-quality, market-based growth. The discussions reinforced our view th