DIGITIMES Sustainability: Energy storage news

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Thursday 10 September 2026

Taiwan EV charging operators face profit squeeze despite rapid network expansion

Taiwan's EV charging industry remains in a fiercely competitive, fragmented phase, according to Blockcert chairman Chang Chung-I. While charging stations may appear to offer an unattended business model, their operations involve numerous complexities that operators often discover only after sites go live, and a lack of operational management experience can result in substantial costs.

Thursday 10 September 2026

Song Chuan rides 800V HVDC upgrade wave, posts record 2Q26 sales

Song Chuan Precision said on September 8 that its second-quarter 2026 revenue and gross margin hit record highs, as demand for AI server power supplies, energy storage, and EV charging all rose at the same time. The company also benefited from a richer product mix tilted toward higher-margin new-energy products, lifting second-quarter consolidated revenue and gross margin to record levels and swinging net profit back into the black from a year earlier.

Wednesday 9 September 2026

Jin Lian Cheng expands into semiconductor wafer fab UPS battery recycling

Jin Lian Cheng Resources completed an upgrade to its desulfurization production line as demand increased for lead-acid battery recycling tied to high-spec uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems used by semiconductor plants. The Taiwanese waste lead-acid battery processor said the upgrade restored normal operations while improving sulfur oxide treatment, real-time monitoring, and environmental management.

Tuesday 8 September 2026

SST market grows 32% as global players race to secure position

As AI server computing power and per-rack power density continue to rise, traditional 54VDC power architectures are hitting bottlenecks such as excessive current, higher copper usage, and greater transmission losses. This is pushing next-generation AI data center power designs toward 800V high-voltage direct current (HVDC).

Monday 7 September 2026

China's power battery sector maintains strong growth momentum as global market presence expands

China's power battery industry has reported robust growth through the first seven months of 2026, driven by rising demand across both electric vehicles and stationary energy storage applications. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China (MIIT), cumulative sales of power batteries reached 790.4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) between January and July, representing a 37.1% year-over-year increase.

Monday 7 September 2026

AI racks move toward MW scale as power, cooling converge

As AI computing power surges, the energy consumption of AI servers has become a major bottleneck that must be solved. The issue is spreading from chips into power delivery systems as Nvidia's AI racks ramp up, rapidly pushing up the power draw of a single AI rack.

Saturday 5 September 2026

Samsung SDI nears solid-state battery mass production, eyes China supply chain

Reports that Samsung SDI's procurement team recently visited the Chinese production facilities of battery material maker Tinci Materials have drawn significant attention within China's industry. As Samsung SDI prepares to initiate mass production of all-solid-state batteries in the second half of 2027, its supply chain strategy and upcoming moves are rapidly becoming a major focal point in the Chinese market.

Thursday 3 September 2026

SB Energy eyes US listing as Nvidia commits US$1.5 billion

SB Energy, the data center and power infrastructure company under SoftBank Group, filed for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 1, planning to list under the ticker "SBE" on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas. The deal could value the company at more than US$50 billion, while Nvidia's promised US$1.5 billion investment has emerged as the most prominent backing for the offering.

Wednesday 2 September 2026

Energy and water: How to tackle the fab resource crunch

As artificial intelligence demand drives astronomical growth in advanced chip manufacturing, the semiconductor industry is hitting critical resource bottlenecks. Speaking at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, leaders from Ecolab and Edwards Vacuum warned on September 2 that continuing with current water and energy practices is unsustainable.

Tuesday 1 September 2026

LG Energy Solution secures long-term US lithium supply

LG Energy Solution has signed a long-term supply agreement with Smackover Lithium for battery-grade lithium carbonate, a move that could strengthen supply chains for energy storage systems and electric vehicles at a time when global demand for critical minerals remains tight.

Tuesday 1 September 2026

Buima returns to profit in the second quarter on battery module demand

Buima swung back to profitability in the second quarter of 2026 as a recovery in its battery module shipments and gains from asset disposal lifted results. The company said demand tied to low Earth orbit satellites, wearable devices, and other applications helped improve profitability, while margin measures and earnings per share reached quarterly records.

Monday 31 August 2026

Shanghai's 15th Five-Year Plan bets on chips, AI, advanced packaging

On August 26, the Shanghai municipal government released its 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Strategic Emerging Industries, setting a target for added value in strategic emerging industries to reach CNY2.1 trillion (approx. US$312.5 billion) by 2030. The plan puts ICs, biopharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence (AI) at the center of the city's industrial strategy, while shifting policy focus from expansion to higher-value areas such as advanced chips, advanced packaging, industrial software, and critical materials.

Thursday 27 August 2026

Trump declares emergency over foreign grid equipment, likely eyeing Chinese power hardware

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 26 declaring a national emergency over the security of America's electrical grid. It restricts the purchase, import, and installation of certain foreign-made "bulk-power system" equipment on cybersecurity and national-security grounds.

Thursday 27 August 2026

Nvidia Vera Rubin drives 800VDC, lifts BBU demand

Nvidia's GPU roadmap is pushing 800VDC into the spotlight as a key next-generation breakthrough, with battery backup modules (BBUs) set to gain in both quality and volume as high-density AI factories shift toward the new power architecture.

Thursday 27 August 2026

Taiwan plans higher power growth to meet AI demand, officials say

Taiwan's government said it will raise electricity supply capacity as it responds to rising demand from AI and industry. The comments came on August 26 at the opening of the 2026 New Energy International Forum in Taipei, where officials also pointed to gaps in public understanding of the island's power mix.

Wednesday 26 August 2026

LGES weighs US drone battery push against brand risk

LG Energy Solution (LGES) is weighing whether to expand into the US defense supply chain as the EV market remains sluggish and the company broadens into energy storage systems (ESS). The possible move has drawn attention because LG Group has long stayed away from defense businesses since its split with LIG Group.

Wednesday 26 August 2026

Star Trade to highlight power services for chips and AI at Semicon Taiwan 2026

Star Trade, a unit of HD Renewable Energy, is set to debut at Semicon Taiwan 2026 next week, offering power trading and energy management services for semiconductor and AI infrastructure. The move underscores how global chipmaking and data center growth is increasing pressure on grids, renewable integration, and electricity pricing.

Tuesday 25 August 2026

Eva Air green transport pact to cut Microsoft freight emissions by 15,000 tonnes

Eva Air and AIT Worldwide Logistics have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a green transport program that will use sustainable aviation fuel from Formosa Petrochemical for Microsoft cloud equipment shipments. The Taiwan-based collaboration is expected to reduce Microsoft's Scope 3 emissions by 15,000 tonnes in its first year.

Tuesday 25 August 2026

Energy law amendments lift AI data center storage demand in Taiwan

AI data centers will increasingly rely on energy storage because of its fast response and grid impact mitigation capabilities, according to Recharge Power, a Taiwan-based battery energy storage system integrator (BESSI) which has seen overseas project revenue gradually bearing fruit. In Taiwan, the energy storage market has also received a major boost following amendments to the Energy Administration Act requiring heavy users to strengthen their electricity self-sufficiency.

Tuesday 25 August 2026

Samsung SDI cashes out Samsung Display stake to fund battery expansion

Samsung SDI said it will sell about one-third of its stake in Samsung Display for KRW4.45 trillion (US$3.2 billion), converting part of its affiliate holding into cash as it prepares to invest in future battery businesses.

Tuesday 25 August 2026

Inergy server share hits 47% on cooling, BBU demand

Inergy Technology said strong demand for AI server cooling and power management pushed the share of server-related applications to 47% of revenue in the second quarter of 2026, with shipments of system-on-chip (SoC) cooling fan driver ICs set to ramp up in the second half of 2026 and battery backup unit (BBU) demand expected to keep rising as AI moves toward high-voltage direct current power architectures.

Monday 24 August 2026

USITC opens cylindrical battery probe as China-Korea competition intensifies

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has opened a trade investigation into certain cylindrical batteries and related products. This case could affect battery supply chains spanning Asia, Europe, and North America. The move adds uncertainty for manufacturers, automakers, and consumers worldwide who depend on imported energy-storage components.

Saturday 22 August 2026

Column: Lessons in supply chain resilience from China Huadian's power-compute coordination model

As AI develops rapidly, data centers are driving equally rapid growth in electricity demand. The stability of future energy supplies will directly determine whether AI computing capacity can continue to expand.

Friday 21 August 2026

China's new solid-state battery standards could reshape the industry

China has introduced the world's first national standards for automotive solid-state batteries, setting off market speculation that most of the country's more than 320 players may ultimately fail to meet the new bar. The rules tighten definitions, safety testing, and mass-production expectations, shifting competition from concept claims to engineering proof and industrial readiness.

Friday 21 August 2026

Column: Is 800V really 'high voltage'? —AI data centers revive an old power debate

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) is currently one of the hottest areas of technology and product development for AI data centers. It is not only the first layer of what Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has described as the industry's "five-layer cake," but also a concrete manifestation of the idea that computing power ultimately depends on electrical power.

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