LONGi reportedly takes stake in Suzhou storage integrator as it weighs move into energy storage

LONGi Green Energy, China’s largest vertically integrated solar manufacturer, has been linked with a rapid pivot into the battery storage market. According to Chinese media reports, the company has taken a stake in Suzhou-based energy storage systems integrator Suzhou Jingkong Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and is also in talks to acquire a second storage business.

The reports – which LONGi has not formally confirmed – suggest the company is amining for swift access to system integration capabilities rather than pursuing full vertical integration.

A LONGi spokesman told ESS News that the company was unable to verify the reports and declined to comment on market speculation. The spokesman noted that LONGi routinely monitors the energy storage sector and emphasized that any material developments would be disclosed through official filings. In recent investor briefings, the company has publicly stated that it is exploring storage opportunities while maintaining its focus on enhancing its core photovoltaic business.

Suzhou Jingkong, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Suzhou High-tech Zone, is recognized as a systems integrator with three main business lines: power supply systems, energy storage systems (ESS), and hydrogen fuel cell systems. The company offers products such as the IPCP power-management platform, a 1,500-V high-voltage liquid-cooled storage system, and the “5S” highly integrated storage configuration, which includes iCCS, BMS, PCS, EMS, and TMS components. Industry sources estimate Jingkong’s self-owned production capacity to be in the low tens of gigawatt-hours (GWh), with multiple GWh of completed and grid-connected projects – figures that establish it as a significant player in the systems integration space.

The interest in storage would mark a notable strategic shift for LONGi, historically focused on wafer, cell and module manufacturing together with growing activities in building-integrated PV and green hydrogen equipment.

The company reported significant losses in recent periods as module prices collapsed industry-wide: according to its public filings, LONGi posted a substantial net loss for 2024 and reported further losses in the first half of 2025. Management has told investors the group is seeking to restore gross margins and control expenses, and it has flagged storage as one of several potential avenues to diversify revenue and smooth cyclical swings in the module market.

Analysts caution, however, that the storage sector is already intensely competitive and capital hungry. Leading Chinese suppliers and established battery makers exert strong pricing pressure, while system integration requires electrical-engineering, software and procurement skills distinct from module manufacture. Tender prices for utility and grid-support storage projects have fallen sharply in recent procurements, squeezing margins for new entrants.

LONGi’s most plausible route, industry participants suggest, would be a light-asset model: acquiring or partnering with established integrators, targeting specific application niches such as distributed commercial and industrial projects or overseas off-grid markets, and leveraging its broad sales and project channels to cross-sell combined PV-plus-storage solutions.

For now the story remains one of interest rather than confirmation. If LONGi proceeds, the move would mirror a broader trend among large PV manufacturers seeking to capture more of the value chain by bundling generation with storage.