Since 2020, major domestic communication operators have stepped up the deployment of 5G base stations to promote the upgrading of base stations, and the demand for batteries in the communication field has surged. Among the energy storage projects in the first three quarters of 2020, communication energy storage projects accounted for nearly half of the entire energy storage market. 
It is estimated that in 2025, the battery demand for newly built and renovated 5G base stations in my country will exceed 50 million kWh. More and more energy storage companies have formed in-depth cooperation with a number of mainstream 5G communication equipment system integrators in the communication energy storage market. The replacement of communication technology is giving birth to a new Lithium Battery application market. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in 2020, about 580,000 new 5G base stations will be added in China, and a total of 718,000 5G base stations will be built. With the increasing demand for 5G base stations, the market demand for energy storage batteries has also increased accordingly. For a long time, 5G base stations have mainly used lead-acid batteries. However, with the improvement of battery performance and life expectancy, lead-acid batteries are gradually being replaced by lithium batteries. Power expansion and upgrade According to the report of Weber Consulting, an industry research organization, the battery is the core equipment to ensure the continuous power supply of the communication base station. During normal power supply, the battery can assist smooth filtering to improve the power supply quality. When the power supply is abnormal or faulty, the battery can be used as a backup power supply. "For a long time, lead-acid batteries have been mainly used as backup power sources for communications, but lead-acid batteries have shortcomings such as short service life, frequent daily maintenance, and environmental friendliness. 5G communication base stations have high energy consumption, and show a trend of miniaturization and light weight. Energy storage systems with higher energy density are needed." Liu Yong, secretary general of the Energy Storage Application Branch of China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association, told reporters, [Lithium iron phosphate batteries have the advantages of high safety, long life, and low cost. Breakthroughs in safety, heat dissipation, integration convenience, and group technology have all continued to make breakthroughs, while also greatly reducing the space and load-bearing requirements. It is expected that the application demand of lithium iron phosphate batteries in the field of communication energy storage will increase significantly in the future." 
From the perspective of industry insiders, the "replacement tide" from lead-acid batteries to lithium iron phosphate batteries is due to the new requirements for power supply expansion and upgrading in the field of communication energy storage. And a lithium battery industry practitioner added that cost is also one of the reasons for the "substitution tide". "When purchasing batteries used in the field of communication energy storage, price is the priority factor for enterprises. From the perspective of cost, lead-acid batteries are lower than lithium batteries and are more accepted by the market. In recent years, the cost of lithium batteries has dropped significantly, so that The bidding and procurement of companies such as China Mobile and China Tower has begun to favor lithium iron phosphate batteries." From the perspective of lithium battery types, at this stage, lithium iron phosphate batteries are mainly used in the field of communication energy storage, and ternary lithium batteries account for a small proportion. "On the one hand, the overall performance of lithium iron phosphate batteries is more prominent in terms of battery materials, production processes, safety performance, and service life. On the other hand, it is a cost factor. Affected by the international supply of raw materials, the price of lithium iron phosphate batteries is lower than that of ternary batteries. Lithium batteries." Liu Yong said, "However, lead-acid batteries have not completely withdrawn from the market, but the proportion has gradually decreased, and replacement is a gradual process." Demand will exceed 50 million kWh The starting point research of emerging industry research institutions pointed out that since 2020, major domestic operators have stepped up the deployment of 5G base stations and continuously promoted the upgrading of base stations. Affected by this, the demand for batteries in the communication field has surged. Among the energy storage projects in the first three quarters of 2020, communication energy storage projects accounted for nearly half of the entire energy storage market. It is expected that the next few years will be the peak period for the construction of 5G base stations. By 2025, the battery demand for newly built and renovated 5G base stations in my country will exceed 50 million kWh. The market demand appears, and the enterprise moves on the wind. Recently, China Tower announced the winning candidates for the centralized bidding project for lithium iron phosphate battery products for backup power in 2021, among which there are many energy storage companies such as Zhongtian Technology and Narada Power. According to public information, the above-mentioned bidding project will purchase 12 specifications of lithium iron phosphate battery packs with a total capacity of about 2 million kWh. More and more energy storage companies have deployed in the communication energy storage market. Earlier, on the investor interaction platform, Yiwei Lithium Energy revealed that it has entered the field of electric energy storage and communication energy storage. Narada Power also mentioned in its 2021 semi-annual report that as early as 2017, it had jointly developed a high-safety and high-reliability smart lithium iron phosphate battery for 5G communication systems with a well-known foreign operator. Communication equipment system integrators formed in-depth cooperation.
According to public information, in the first half of this year, Narada`s communication and data backup power business achieved sales revenue of 1.445 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.03%. "With the opportunities for the great development of 5G communications and data centers, the company's communications and data businesses have also maintained rapid growth." Narada Power said. Huawei believes that the lithium battery-based backup power supply can be widely used in scenarios that require high power supply weight, volume, cycle life, and magnification. In the era of big data, scenarios with limited space, such as shared stations and central computer room expansion, gradually require the participation of lithium battery backup power. In the future, with the large-scale production of energy storage lithium batteries, the cost will continue to decline, and lithium batteries will play an increasingly important role in the field of communication backup power.
