ShenzhenMay 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On May 15, the 18th Shenzhen International Battery Technology Exchange/Exhibition (CIBF2026), hosted by the China Industrial Association of Power Sources, officially concluded in Shenzhen.
As the premier battery industry event in the first year of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, this edition of CIBF was not only an unprecedented industry gathering but also a strategic “thought summit” concerning the future direction of the battery industry.
The three-day exhibition drew global attention to Pengcheng (Shenzhen), witnessing profound transformations in the battery industry regarding technological iteration, ecological restructuring, and green collaboration, charting a new course for the global energy transition over the next five years.
Grand Scale: Full-Dimension Assembly of the Global Industry Chain
This year’s CIBF2026, themed “Connecting the Globe • Empowering Green Energy • Driving the Future,” featured a total exhibition area exceeding 280,000 square meters, utilizing 14 themed professional halls and gathering over 3,200 leading enterprises across the industry chain. The exhibition site was bustling with activity, with total visitor traffic exceeding 400,000 over three days, once again setting a historical record for global battery exhibitions.
In terms of technology showcases, CIBF2026 presented a panoramic view of innovations across the entire battery industry chain. Notably, the Battery/Energy Storage Exhibition Area (Halls 3, 5, 14, 16) focused on showcasing a new generation of high-safety, high-energy-density power and energy storage battery products. The Manufacturing Equipment Area (Halls 7-11) presented the achievements of full-process intelligent upgrades in automated production and precision testing. The Raw Materials and Components Area (Halls 4, 6, 13, 15) highlighted green and low-carbon innovations in key materials and core components. The International Hall (Hall 12) brought together globally renowned grid operators, system integrators, and energy developers, establishing a platform for international exchange and cooperation.
Regarding trendsetting, several professional forums were successfully held concurrently, including the “Advanced Battery Frontier Technology Exchange Conference,” “Next-Generation Battery Technology for Electric Aviation Exchange Conference,” “6th Shenzhen International New Energy Storage Technology and Engineering Application Conference,” and the “3rd Battery Passport International Conference.” Domestic and international industry representatives, corporate leaders, and top scholars gathered to engage in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge topics such as solid-state batteries, AI-driven materials research, electric aviation batteries, energy storage safety, and battery passports, injecting new momentum into industrial innovation.
Deepening International Reach: Two-Way Leap in Business Matching
CIBF2026 built an efficient cooperation platform with a global perspective, achieving new breakthroughs in both internationalization level and business outcomes.
Hall 15 was particularly bustling, with its new product release zone serving as a premier launchpad for global cutting-edge technologies, featuring intensive debuts of innovations like large-capacity energy storage cells. The efficient business negotiation area facilitated precise connections between Chinese and foreign merchants, comprehensively showcasing the collaborative strength of the global supply chain and the vibrant vitality of the industry.
During the exhibition, significant signings occurred continuously. BYD Energy Storage signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Norway’s Corvus Energy AS to jointly advance the R&D, certification, and large-scale deployment of high-rate LFP marine battery systems in the maritime new energy sector. Chutian New Energy signed intensive cooperation agreements with five benchmark enterprises, including CRRC Zhuzhou Institute and Clou Electronics, with cumulative orders reaching up to 50 GWh. Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center to jointly promote the transition of humanoid robots from laboratories to large-scale industrial production lines.
Additionally, numerous exhibitors reached cooperation agreements with overseas clients in the International Hall covering battery supply, technology collaboration, and capacity co-building, with business outcomes continuing to materialize.
Consensus Leading: Five Major Trends Anchoring the Industry’s Future
Combining the intensive signals released at the exhibition and major industry consensus, CIBF2026 clearly outlined five core future trends for the global battery industry:
Technology Trend: Diversification and Intelligence Advancing in Tandem. Next-generation battery technologies represented by solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries are accelerating their transition from labs to industrialization, with key materials like dry electrodes and silicon-based anodes achieving breakthroughs “from 0 to 1.” Simultaneously, AI is deeply empowering advanced materials R&D, BMS, and smart manufacturing, driving new battery development and transitioning battery lifecycle management towards precise diagnostics and proactive intelligent control.
Market Trend: Full Explosion of Application Scenarios. Downstream demand is comprehensively penetrating from new energy vehicles and large-scale energy storage into emerging sectors such as the low-altitude economy (eVTOL), embodied intelligent robots, and AI data center (AIDC) computing hubs. Battery technology is becoming a core engine driving the development of new productive forces, infinitely expanding market space.
Competitive Landscape: The industry is shifting from a phase of scale expansion to a phase of value competition focused on technological depth and ecosystem building. True competitive barriers no longer rely solely on production capacity but on technological leadership, supply chain resilience, global layout capabilities, and full lifecycle service capabilities. Concurrently, industry chain integration is accelerating, characterized by the coexistence of vertical integration and open cooperation.
Policy Direction: Green Compliance Becomes a “Passport.” Driven by the “15th Five-Year Plan” and international regulations like the EU’s New Battery Regulation, green indicators such as carbon footprint management and recycling rates across the battery lifecycle have become hard thresholds and essential “passports” for enterprises participating in global competition.
Ecosystem Building: Full Industry Chain Synergy and Symbiosis. The industry is moving from individual enterprise efforts to building an ecological community of “resources-manufacturing-application-recycling.” Deep binding between upstream and downstream enterprises and accelerated cross-border integration are shaping a symbiotic and thriving global green energy ecosystem.
Gathering Strength, Charting a New Course. CIBF2026 was not only a feast of technology and products but also a profound dialogue among global industry peers about a green future. At the new starting point of the “15th Five-Year Plan,” it injected strong confidence and momentum into China’s battery industry and the global energy transition.
We look forward to gathering again at CIBF2027 next year, with a more resilient industry chain and more disruptive innovative forces, to jointly explore the new blue ocean of green energy and drive the world towards a true zero-carbon future.