The coronavirus outbreak in China will impact the green energy sector, including renewable energy sources, battery energy storage, electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable heating and cooling, says leading data and analytics company GlobalData.
Sneha Susan Elias, Senior Power Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “China’s attempt to fight the coronavirus outbreak has led to delayed production across a number of battery production facilities located in key coronavirus hit provinces and is expected to lower the output of Chinese battery manufacturers by around 26 GWh in 2020.”
The supply constraint will also have an impact on the global EV markets along with energy storage projects, causing project delays or a rise in battery prices. This situation is different from the conventional narrative about grid storage projects and EVs reaping benefits from steady decrease in battery price.
Globally, carmakers are looking for independence from the current supremacy of Chinese battery manufacturers and are aiming to secure their own battery supply chains.
Elias concludes: “The industry’s over dependency on China has been showcased recently with the coronavirus outbreak leading to disruptions in the supply of components. China itself is expected to take a beating on production of around one million vehicles. The country exports around US$70bn worth of car parts and accessories worldwide, with nearly 20% going to the US.”