For GoodWe, Global Award Vindicates Early Move Into Storage Inverters

GoodWe was recently awarded the title of Most Efficient Asian Storage Manufacturer by Berlin University of Applied Science through SPI efficiency test. While the recognition was welcome for the firm, what most people may not know is that GoodWe had complete a decade in the energy storage industry. As one of pioneers, the firm has gone through its share of  setbacks and honors before finally reaping the reward for its long term vision and focus today.

The Start

It was during an extremely hot summer in 2012, when the GoodWe service team first pointed out the issues being faced by users of ongrid solar due to grid issues.

Convinced of the validity of this market pain point, Chairman Daniel Huang was determined to invest in R&D of “PV+ energy storage” inverter products without any hesitation. This went well with his vision of building products that were not just sustainable but also eased and improved the quality of life for its users.

An Early Breakthrough

The first breakthrough came soon enough on May 2014, when GoodWe’s first energy storage inverter ES series was installed in a 400-year-old villa in Cambridge, UK, opening a new chapter in residential energy storage. In a market that was dominated by off grid inverters, the new energy storage inverter that could realize the energy storage function and at the same time, also achieve the residual power on grid without wasting any kilowatt of electricity was a novelty for most early adopters.

From a novelty, the market quick morphed to welcome this new innovation, as between 2012 to 2017, the market demand for energy storage systems exploded over twentyfold, from 0.34 GW to 6 GW. In the same period, GoodWe hybrid inverters also realized the function to match with various models of LG, Tesla batteries, which indicated that GoodWe officially moved into the high-end market and become one of the most important players in the ESS industry.

Growing & Thriving In an Evolving Market

With the gradual reduction of FIT subsidies in major markets and the declining cost of energy storage system from 2019, self-consumption was gradually becoming a trend. GoodWe found itself in the right place and time to service the new need for electricity supply, especially in otherwise inhospitable areas where grid supply was not dependable

From 2018, GoodWe’s energy storage inverters were steadily being exported to Australia, Africa and European countries and received high market acceptance. After achieving an annual shipments milestone of over 20,000 units, GoodWe was a major global manufacturer of ESS and was also ranked No.1 in the world for residential hybrid inverter shipments according to Wood Mackenzie in 2020.

In 2021, GoodWe launched its own Lynx battery series, including low-voltage and high-voltage batteries in order to provide customers with a more comprehensive solution. The matching solution of inverter plus battery provided a welcome convenience for customers. Soon, GoodWe’s energy storage inverter achieved another milestone with 60,000 units’ shipment, to maintain its high growth trajectory.

The Future Is Solar, And Bright

Today, the world is witnessing a shift in the way energy is being procured and consumed. Recent disruptions due to covid, war and other geopolitical events has only affirmed the need among many users for a dependable and controllable energy source. That has brought energy storage and solar to the forefront.

According to the research of CICC, it’s estimated that the theoretical scale of global home storage is about 1,300GWh in 2030, and as of 2021, the installed capacity of global home storage is only about 20GWh, leaving a long runway of growth. It’s believed that factors such as the widening peak-to-valley price gap, the reduction of energy storage costs, and the expiration of FIT will drive the further improvement of the economy of home storage. It’s expected that under the normal situation and the accelerated development of VPP (Virtual Power Plant), the global installed capacity of home storage will reach 18/35GWh in 2025, corresponding to a CAGR of 29%/52% in 2021-2025, respectively.

For a ‘Smart Energy Innovator’ (GoodWe’s slogan) it is an opportunity lie none else. GoodWe has added photovoltaic building materials (BIPV), EV chargers and other products this year, endeavoring to be an all-round solution of “EcoSmart Home”, the one-stop solution for green living.