China's energy internet market size will exceed US$940 billion in 2020

China Energy Storage Network News : At present, China is facing the urgent need of new energy revolution and energy market reform, and the construction of energy Internet is accelerating. At the 2016 China Energy Internet Summit held on August 31, the National Energy Administration announced the establishment of the National Energy Internet Industry and Technology Innovation Alliance. Experts said that as an emerging industry, once the construction of energy Internet is rolled out, due to its strong internal and external driving forces, a "blowout" development situation will inevitably emerge.

The development prospects are becoming clearer

In recent years, with the continuous development and deep integration of emerging energy technologies with information technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and mobile Internet, the development prospects of the energy Internet have become increasingly clear, and the energy Internet is increasingly widely regarded as an important technological fulcrum for realizing the future energy revolution.

At present, global energy development is driven by both consumption structure and technological development. Many developed countries have begun to explore and practice energy Internet and have achieved outstanding results. Since the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of "Internet +" Smart Energy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions") and a number of supporting documents at the beginning of this year, some energy companies, IT Internet companies and manufacturing companies have begun forward-looking exploration and pilot projects in business, hoping to seize the commanding heights of the industry in advance.

"Traditional energy companies, in particular, have begun to consciously learn from the consumer industry and consider the combination of customer experience and cross-selling in energy consumption." Ding Mincheng, global vice president of Accenture, said in an interview with the Economic Daily that digitalization has evolved into one of the core driving forces for industry disruption and innovation in the energy field. "In the future, digital energy platforms will be the technical means and capabilities necessary for companies to develop the energy Internet market."

Energy Internet provides new opportunities for enterprises to optimize their transformation direction. Many corporate executives told reporters that emerging energy service providers with Internet characteristics will bring a disruptive impact on the current status of the industrial chain. They can not only provide B2B and B2C energy services, but also extend to the same industries through this platform, such as home furnishing and retail industries, creating a market with greater value.

Shi Yubo, executive vice president of the China Energy Research Society and former deputy director of the National Energy Administration, pointed out that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, we will actively build a smart energy system, promote the deep integration of new technologies in the fields of energy and information, coordinate the construction of energy and infrastructure networks such as communications and transportation, and build an energy Internet with coordinated development, integration and complementarity of "source-grid-load-storage". "In the next five years, the development of the energy Internet industry is expected to maintain a growth rate of 18.5%, becoming one of the strong engines of reform, innovation and development." Shi Yubo said.

According to Accenture's forecast, by 2020, the total market size of China's energy Internet will exceed US$940 billion.

Enterprises are still not well prepared

Of course, the development of the energy internet industry is not all smooth sailing. The specific concept and connotation of the energy internet need to be further explored and practiced to reach a broad consensus. Relevant reform measures and support policies need to be further implemented and clarified. Technical means also need to be continuously improved, and the exploration and establishment of business models also need to be further tested by the market.

Under such circumstances, although many enterprises are generally consistent with the direction of national policy guidance on the transformation of energy internet, they prefer cautious and general strategies and are not well prepared for strategies and tactics. In interviews, reporters found that digitalization and management shortcomings have hindered enterprises from moving towards energy internet. Many enterprise leaders said that the company's digital application capabilities are still relatively weak, mainly due to the lack of an overall digital strategy.

In this regard, Ding Mincheng believes that the technological fields that Chinese companies urgently need to enhance are mainly in three aspects: the first is the energy business platform based on digital technology; the second is the smart network technology for distributed energy areas; and the third is the intelligentization of centralized transmission systems.

Compared with the smooth integration of other industries with the Internet, people generally feel that the integration of energy and the Internet is full of difficulties. "Our existing energy system arrangements are not yet suitable for the connection between energy and the Internet, including industrial concentration, ownership structure, circulation material system, etc." Fan Bi, inspector of the General Department of the State Council Research Office, said that there are still relatively few main energy suppliers, such as oil, gas and electricity. In this case, the most important factor - price is out of order, and the free flow of energy is also restricted, so it is difficult for the Internet to play its due role.

At present, my country implements total control on energy management. There are various indicators and approvals on both energy production and consumption ends, and the supervision of natural monopoly industries is relatively weak. "The Internet has changed the world, but it has not changed China's energy." Fan Bi pointed out that to break through this point, the attributes of energy must return to general commodities, increase supply, and liberalize prices. At the same time, the government must supervise monopoly enterprises well, and the production and delivery of other enterprises also need to be further liberalized.

Technical standardization is a breakthrough

Standardization is necessary for the large-scale development of the energy internet. The Guiding Opinions propose that by 2018, a number of pilot demonstration projects of different types and sizes should be established, a preliminary energy internet technical standard system should be established, and a number of technical specifications and standards should be formed; by 2025, an energy internet industry system should be initially established, a relatively complete technology and standard system should be formed, and the development of the energy internet should be promoted to achieve internationalization and lead the practice.

"It can be seen that a standardized and unified standard system is the basic condition to support the development of the energy internet and an important guarantee for the construction of a complex system of the energy internet," said Yang Kun, executive vice president of the China Electricity Council. Standardization is an inherent need of the technical characteristics of the energy internet. The energy internet is a deep integration of the internet with energy production, energy transmission, energy storage, energy consumption and the market, covering many professional fields. To give full play to the role of the energy internet, it is necessary to open up channels in all links and realize the interconnection of equipment, information and business. To realize the interconnection of these links, the premise is to unify standards.

More importantly, standardization is also a powerful "weapon" for my country to seize the leading position in the international energy Internet industry. Energy Internet is an emerging industry, and all countries are studying related technologies and standards. Germany issued smart grid standards in 2008. "In the past, my country always followed others and adopted international standards, but we have our own advantages in smart energy, and the project is progressing rapidly." Yang Kun said that we should take the initiative to participate in the formulation of international standards, and even lead international standards, to enhance my country's international status and influence.

Yang Kun revealed that the current energy internet standard construction has solid conditions, the standard systems for smart grids and electric vehicles are gradually being established, and relevant standardization reform plans have been proposed. "The China Electricity Council will release a batch of standards in October this year to meet market requirements and the needs of the energy internet."