On March 12, the Shanxi Provincial Energy Bureau announced the "List of Wind and Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects to be Abolished in the First Batch of 2026", which proposes to abolish 22 projects with a total capacity of 147.284 million kilowatts, including the Fengrun Huairun 50 MW photovoltaic energy storage integrated demonstration project.

On 10 February, China Energy Conservation Solar Co., Ltd. (Stock Code: 000591) announced that to enhance corporate profitability and expand market share in solar photovoltaic power generation, its wholly-owned subsidiary China Energy Conservation Solar Technology Co., Ltd. acquired 100% equity in Jinhua Fengling New Energy Development Co., Ltd. from Hangzhou Fengling Electric Power Technology Co., Ltd. for RMB 527.4198 million.

[Hithium Takes the Lead in Mass Production of the World's First 1000Ah Battery, Ushering in the Era of Large-Scale Application of Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES)] On June 11, 2025, at the SNEC 2025 International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition, Hithium held a product safety technology sharing session with the theme of "Taking the Lead with Confidence, Building a Secure Future." During the event, Hithium announced the mass production and roll-out of the world's first 1000Ah long duration energy storage battery, the ∞Cell 1175Ah, marking a new phase in the large-scale application of long duration energy storage.

On 12 May, Shanxi Energy Bureau announced the first batch of abolished wind power PV power generation project scale list in 2025, 14 projects with a total scale of 591,700 kW were abolished, such as the integrated photovoltaic power generation in Wangjiaya Village, Tianchidian, Louxiao, etc. Among the 14 abolished projects, there are 10 PV projects with a total capacity of 487.95 MW, and 4 wind power projects with a total capacity of 104 MW.

On May 16, 2025, Changan Automobile celebrated the launch of its Rayong plant in Thailand alongside a ceremony commemorating its global cumulative production milestone of 28.59 million vehicles.

From April 28, 2025, to May 4, 2025, SMM recorded a total of 23 domestic enterprise-won PV module projects that week. The winning bid prices for PV modules were concentrated in the range of 0.66-0.85 yuan/W, with a weekly weighted average price of 0.75 yuan/W, representing an increase of 0.06 yuan/W compared to the previous week. The total procurement capacity for the winning bids was 43.33 MW, a decrease of 927.59 MW compared to the previous week.

Introduction Solid-state hydrogen storage technology is one of the core directions to break through the bottleneck of hydrogen storage and transportation. Rare earth-based materials (such as AB₅ type hydrogen storage alloys) and magnesium-based materials (such as MgH₂) form a complement in terms of power density, cost, and safety due to their material property differences. In April 2025, global breakthroughs in the industrialization of these two types of materials in the hydrogen energy field were frequent: The University of Science and Technology of China announced that the normal pressure hydrogen storage density of rare earth hydrogen storage tanks reached 7.2wt%, and ThyssenKrupp of Germany released a magnesium-based hydrogen storage system with a cycle life exceeding 500 times. This article, combining this week's industry dynamics, systematically sorts out the technical paths, scenario adaptability, and domestic enterprises' industrialization practices of the two types of materials, and discusses their collaborative development path. I. Rare Earth-Based Solid-State Hydrogen Storage: The "Cornerstone Technology" for High Power Density Scenarios 1. Technical Characteristics and Core Breakthroughs Rare earth-based hydrogen storage materials, represented by LaNi₅ and MmNi₅ (mixed rare earth nickel-based alloys), achieve hydrogen storage through metal hydride reactions. Their technical advantages include: High volumetric hydrogen storage density: Under normal pressure, it can reach 30-35kg/m³ (more than twice that of liquid hydrogen storage), suitable for space-limited scenarios such as passenger vehicles and drones. Wide temperature range stability: Operating temperature range -30℃~100℃, with excellent low-temperature cold start performance (hydrogen absorption completed within 5 minutes). Cycle life: Laboratory level exceeds 10,000 cycles (verified by Toyota's hydrogen heavy truck). Key Advances in April 2025: USTC New Rare Earth-Transition Metal Alloy: Using a CeCo₀.8Ni₀.2 composite system, the hydrogen storage density at 1MPa normal pressure reached 7.2wt%, with a cycle life exceeding 12,000 times, planned for use in the Shanghai Lingang hydrogen bus demonstration project. China Northern Rare Earth Low-Cost Mass Production Line: A production line for 50,000 sets of rare earth hydrogen storage tanks per year was launched in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, using Pr-Nd-based alloys (lanthanum and cerium content >60%), reducing the cost per tank by 40% compared to imported products. GRINM Group Rare Earth-Vanadium Composite Material: Developed a new alloy (V₀.3Ce₀.7), with a hydrogen storage density of 35kg/m³ under 5MPa pressure, suitable for hydrogen-powered ship propulsion systems. 2. Core Application Scenarios and Domestic Practices (1) Dynamic Hydrogen Supply for Fuel Cell Vehicles Technical Adaptability: Rare earth hydrogen storage tanks can meet the high-frequency start-stop requirements of fuel cell vehicles. For example, the Chinese hydrogen heavy truck "HydrogenTeng 3.0" equipped with a rare earth hydrogen storage module achieved an 800km driving range on the Ordos coal transportation line, with hydrogen consumption per 100km reduced by 12% compared to pure hydrogen systems. Latest Case: Shanghai Jieqing Technology and China Northern Rare Earth collaborated to integrate rare earth hydrogen storage tanks into hydrogen refueling station storage systems, compatible with 35MPa hydrogen refueling stations, targeting over 90% localization by 2026. (2) Distributed Power Generation Peak Shaving System Integration Solution: Rare earth hydrogen storage tanks integrated with fuel cells achieve bidirectional "hydrogen-electricity" conversion. Hyzon Motors of Germany launched a 50kW distributed power generation system, capable of stable power supply during peak grid load, with a cycle efficiency of 45%. Domestic Application: Weishi Energy introduced a rare earth hydrogen storage-fuel cell distributed power generation system, suitable for data center backup power scenarios, with response time shortened to 10 seconds. (3) Emergency Power and High-End Equipment Toshiba Solution: A rare earth hydrogen storage tank combined with a 5kW fuel cell forms a backup power source, already deployed in Tokyo data centers. Domestic Breakthrough: Zihuan Environmental developed a rare earth catalyst recycling technology, achieving a recovery rate of lanthanum and cerium >95% through hydrometallurgy, with costs 60% lower than virgin rare earths. II. Magnesium-Based Solid-State Hydrogen Storage: The "Disruptor" for Low-Cost Long-Duration Energy Storage 1. Technical Characteristics and Domestic Breakthroughs Magnesium-based hydrogen storage materials (such as MgH₂) store hydrogen through the reversible reaction of magnesium and hydrogen, with a theoretical hydrogen storage density of 7.6wt%, but slow kinetics (requiring high-temperature activation). The 2025 technological breakthroughs focus on: Nanostructure Modification: Through ball milling, magnesium particles are refined to below 50nm, reducing the hydrogen absorption temperature from 300℃ to 150℃ and increasing the hydrogen absorption rate threefold. Catalyst Optimization: ThyssenKrupp's Ti/Fe bimetallic catalyst increased the cycle life of MgH₂ from 300 to 500 cycles. Key Advances in April 2025: China Energy Engineering Middle East Green Hydrogen Project: Using magnesium-based hydrogen storage tanks to store fluctuating wind and solar power generation, with a hydrogen storage duration of 72 hours, and system costs 40% lower than liquid hydrogen storage. Yunhai Metal 200MWh Annual Production Line: A magnesium-based hydrogen storage tank production line was established in Chizhou, Anhui, using an integrated ball milling-sintering process, with a yield increased to 75%, applied to the Qinghai photovoltaic-hydrogen integration project. Shanghai Magnesium Power Cross-Border Storage and Transportation Solution: In collaboration with Mitsui, a pilot "methane steam reforming for hydrogen-magnesium-based storage" was tested in Dubai, with a magnesium-based hydrogen storage tank capacity of 10MWh, 60% smaller in volume than liquid hydrogen tanks. 2. Core Application Scenarios and Domestic Practices (1) Industrial-Level Long-Duration Energy Storage NEOM New City Project: China Energy Engineering provided a 50MWh magnesium-based hydrogen storage system, smoothing the intermittency of wind and solar power generation, with lifecycle costs 40% lower than liquid hydrogen storage. CATL Rare Earth-Magnesium Composite Hydrogen Storage Material: Developed Mg₂NiH₄/CeO₂ composite material, reducing the hydrogen absorption temperature to 150℃, suitable for heavy trucks on the Ordos coal transportation line, with a driving range increased to 1,000km. (2) Island and Off-Grid Hydrogen Supply Kagoshima Project, Japan: Toray deployed a 5MW electrolyzer + 20MWh magnesium-based hydrogen storage system, providing off-grid community power supply, with lifecycle costs 25% lower than diesel power generation. Domestic Suitable Scenario: Yunhai Metal provided a magnesium-based system for the Qinghai photovoltaic-hydrogen project, storing 48 hours of fluctuating power, with costs 50% lower than liquid hydrogen. (3) Cross-Border Hydrogen Trade Middle East-East Asia LNG to Hydrogen Pilot: Shanghai Magnesium Power and Mitsui collaborated to transport hydrogen in solid form by sea to East Asia, avoiding the high costs and safety risks of liquid storage and transportation. III. Comparison of Technical Paths and Collaborative Development Strategies 1. Performance Parameter Comparison 2. Collaborative Application Scenarios and Domestic Practices (1) Hybrid Hydrogen Storage Systems Hydrogen Refueling Station Scenario: The Anting hydrogen refueling station in Shanghai uses rare earth hydrogen storage tanks to handle frequent vehicle refueling, while magnesium-based hydrogen storage tanks store low-cost green hydrogen, reducing the system cost by 20%. Microgrid Scenario: Rare earth materials meet instantaneous high-power demands (such as fluctuations in photovoltaic power generation), while magnesium-based materials store hydrogen produced from low-cost nighttime electricity. (2) Material Modification Technologies Rare Earth-Magnesium Alloy Development: Such as Mg₂NiH₄ composite material, with a hydrogen storage density of 3.5wt%, and hydrogen absorption temperature reduced to 100℃, now in the pilot stage. Nano-Coating Process: Coating magnesium particles with rare earth oxides (such as CeO₂) inhibits hydride decomposition, increasing the cycle life to 800 cycles. IV. Industrialization Challenges and Policy Opportunities 1. Technological Bottlenecks and Breakthrough Directions Rare Earth-Based: Fluctuations in light rare earth supply (such as lanthanum and cerium) increase costs, requiring the development of cobalt/nickel-free systems (such as iron-based hydrogen storage alloys). Magnesium-Based: Thousand-ton production lines have a yield of less than 60%, requiring breakthroughs in automated ball milling processes and thermal management technologies. 2. Policy and Capital Synergy Domestic Policies: The Ministry of Finance included the R&D of rare earth-based hydrogen storage materials in the subsidy scope, with a maximum subsidy of 5 million yuan per vehicle; magnesium-based hydrogen storage systems receive a subsidy of 0.3 yuan/Wh based on storage capacity. Capital Layout: In Q1 2025, financing in the domestic hydrogen energy sector exceeded 20 billion yuan, with 35% allocated to the solid-state hydrogen storage track, focusing on magnesium-based materials (Yunhai Metal, Magnesium Power) and rare earth catalysts (Zihuan Environmental). V. Future Outlook: From Dual-Drive to Global Competition and Cooperation Short-Term (2025-2030): Rare earth-based materials will dominate transportation and distributed scenarios, while magnesium-based materials will focus on industrial energy storage and cross-border trade. Medium-Term (2030-2035): Rare earth-magnesium alloy materials will be commercialized, and hybrid hydrogen storage systems will become mainstream. Long-Term (Post-2035): Solid-state hydrogen storage, along with liquid hydrogen and organic liquid hydrogen storage, will form a multi-technology route competition, driving the full-chain cost of hydrogen energy close to that of traditional energy. Core Conclusion: Domestic enterprises, through the dual-drive strategy of "rare earths for transportation, magnesium for energy storage," have formed full-chain capabilities in materials, system integration, and cross-border trade. In the future, further breakthroughs in thermal management and large-scale manufacturing are needed to transition solid-state hydrogen storage technology from the laboratory to large-scale application, providing a cost-effective and high-performance Chinese solution for the global hydrogen energy industry.

On April 22, the National Energy Administration issued the "Typical Cases of Special Supervision on the Promotion of Distributed PV Filing and Grid Connection in 2024," which reported the main issues identified during the special supervision work on the promotion of distributed PV filing and grid connection organized in 11 provinces, including Hebei Province.

April 22, the National Energy Administration issued the "Special Supervision Typical Cases on the Promotion of Distributed PV Filing and Grid Connection in 2024", reporting the main issues found during the special supervision work on the promotion of distributed PV filing and grid connection organized in 11 provinces including Hebei province. I. Issues in Distributed PV Filing 1. The Administrative Approval Service Bureau of a certain development zone in Dongying City, Shandong Province, required a project owner to communicate with a new energy company before filing. 2. A county in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, stipulated in its "Notice on Promoting High-Quality Development of Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects" that natural person household PV filings must provide additional documents such as a house load-bearing capacity assessment report, opinions from the town government, and that "PV inverters should be within the scope of the Qualified Supply Model List for Distributed PV Inverters in Shaanxi Province," limiting the investment entity's choice of PV inverter products. In October 2024, the county abolished the "Notice on Promoting High-Quality Development of Distributed Photovoltaic Power Generation Projects." 3. A non-natural person household distributed PV project, when applying for filing with the Development and Reform Bureau of a city in Xiangyang, Hubei Province, provided documents such as a commitment letter not affecting airport flight safety, no loan declaration, authenticity commitment letter, and a commitment letter for rooftop distributed PV project filing. 4. A county in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, required non-natural person household project units to register companies locally, sign cooperative development agreements with state-owned enterprises set up by the county government, and proposed requirements such as tax and investment "thresholds"; a town in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, signed a tripartite agreement with a branch and a limited company, requiring a commitment to an agricultural and forestry waste resource recycling comprehensive utilization project as a condition for distributed PV filing. 5. A county in Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, signed a "New Energy Project Development Framework Agreement" with a company in November 2023, entrusting the company with the development and construction of 2.58 million m² of urban residential, rural self-built, and private enterprise rooftops, with an installed capacity of 850,000 kW. Other companies had to obtain permission from this company and pay a certain fee to file distributed PV. After the special supervision discovered this issue, the county took it seriously and actively rectified. 6. From July 2023 to September 2024, a county in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, suspended the filing of all distributed photovoltaic power generation projects in the county due to a previous safety accident. 7. A power supply company in Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, did not file with the local energy authority from 2022 to 2023, and only filed 66 household natural person PV projects collectively in September 2024. As of the end of October 2024, another power supply company in Changsha still had 345,000 kW of distributed PV projects in operation without filing, involving 13,869 households. By December 6, 2024, the power supply company had completed the filing procedures for all 13,869 household natural person PV stations as planned. 8. In June 2024, the Development and Reform Bureau of a county in Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, issued a notice, stating that due to insufficient grid carrying capacity, to ensure the safe and stable operation of the grid, the filing of distributed power source projects in red-rated areas would be temporarily suspended. 9. After receiving the detailed list of "Household Rooftop Distributed PV Projects from June 15 to June 21, 2024" submitted by the power supply branch of a county in Chengde City, Hebei Province, the Development and Reform Bureau of the county issued a receipt confirming receipt but did not issue a standard filing document, without a document number. 10. A distributed PV power generation project in Zhejiang Province was halted due to a rent dispute between the original rooftop owner and the development company, but the filing cancellation was not processed. In March 2024, the development company reached an agreement with the new rooftop owner to restart the PV construction plan, but the new project filing was affected due to duplicate filing issues. 11. A distributed PV power generation project in a county in Xinyang City, Henan Province, was actually filed on December 1, 2023, but the filing authority issued a filing certificate dated October 18, 2023, to meet the grid connection conditions. 12. A rooftop distributed PV power generation project in a region of Panzhou City, Guizhou Province, with a total installed capacity of 20.2 MW, applicable to 10 towns and industrial parks, currently has 87 sub-projects connected to the grid with a total capacity of 8 MW, but the filing documents do not include the names, installed capacities, and construction locations of each project; a county in Anshun City clearly stated that household PV is arranged uniformly by the local government and does not go through the power supply company's filing when the power supply company centrally files with the energy authority. II. Issues in Distributed PV Grid Connection 1. A county in Huainan City, Anhui Province, issued the "Interim Measures for the Management of Rooftop Distributed PV Power Generation Projects," requiring enterprises and residents (villagers) to submit "Opinions of the Local Town Government Agreeing to the Application for Installation of Distributed PV Power Generation Projects" when applying for installation. The Huainan Development and Reform Commission urged the county's Development and Reform Commission to immediately rectify, and the county's Development and Reform Commission held a special meeting, deciding to abolish the "Interim Measures for the Management of Rooftop Distributed PV Power Generation Projects." 2. A distributed PV power generation project in Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, lacked complete grid connection documents such as power purchase and sale contracts and lease agreements; some projects in Hubei Province had no certificates for PV modules and inverters, and some projects' PV module product certification certificates had expired at the time of grid connection application. 3. A distributed PV power generation project in a county in Zhoukou City, Henan Province, showed the project unit as a certain enterprise in the filing document, but the power supply company actually registered it under the name of a natural person, using the name of the roof property farmer. 4. Affected by local regulations on the development of distributed PV, since 2023, a power supply company in Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, has handled 31,441 distributed PV power generation projects, with over 20 working days for issuing grid connection opinions for 1,236 households. 5. A distributed PV power generation project in a power supply company in Zhejiang Province was accepted for grid connection on August 22, 2022, and responded on November 22, 2022, taking 62 working days, which did not meet the relevant requirements. The project was finally connected to the grid and accepted on April 24, 2023. 6. A distributed PV power generation project in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, applied for inspection on January 29, 2023, with the actual inspection date being January 17, 2023, and the paper archive showing the inspection date as January 30, 2023, and the project passed the inspection in one go; a distributed PV power generation project in Handan City, Hebei Province, had an actual grid connection voltage level of 380 volts, but the power supply company incorrectly filled it as 10 kilovolts. 7. During the grid connection acceptance of some projects by a power supply company in Hefei City, Anhui Province, there were issues such as the project unit's debugging personnel and acceptance personnel not signing, the overall engineering debugging evaluation conclusion and the overall acceptance evaluation conclusion not being filled out, and missing equipment electrical test records. 8. When conducting carrying capacity calculations, some municipal power supply companies in Liaoning Province assessed the results as "either red or green," rather than the "red, yellow, green" three-color results specified in the "Guidelines for Assessing the Carrying Capacity of Distributed Power Sources Connected to the Grid." No clear measures to improve the grid connection capacity of distributed PV were formulated. Starting from Q3 2024, districts and counties in Liaoning have opened capacities according to the "red, yellow, green" three-color zoning, adding a yellow warning area. 9. In the "2024 Q3 Public Information Table of Accessible Capacity for Distributed PV of Public Distribution Transformers" published on the official website of a power supply company in Chizhou City, Anhui Province, some green-rated transformer districts had an accessible capacity of 0 kVA. III. Issues in Distributed PV Transactions and Settlements 1. For a distributed PV power generation project in Huangshi City, Hubei Province, the power purchase and sale contract, grid connection acceptance opinion, and the grid-connected capacity in the power supply company's marketing system were inconsistent, at 1,260 kW, 1,600 kW, and 1,600 kW, respectively; the signing date of the power purchase and sale contract (October 9, 2023) for a distributed PV power generation project was earlier than the business acceptance date (November 14, 2023). 2. For a distributed PV power generation project in a county in Xinyang City, Henan Province, the power purchase and sale contract did not specify the seller's collection account, the electricity calculation buyer, the meter reading method, and the meter reading example day; the main technical parameters and the main wiring and property boundary point diagram in the attachment had no content. For a household distributed PV power generation project in a county in Hebi City, the original power purchase and sale contract provided by the county power bureau was inconsistent with the copy provided by the power supply company. The grid connection date for a household distributed PV power generation project was February 5, 2023, and the power purchase and sale contract was signed on July 25, 2023, with electricity settlement occurring before the contract was signed. 3. In the service area of a power supply company in Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, 25% of distributed PV grid-connected electricity fees were settled in the following month, 33% were settled quarterly, 33% were settled annually, and 9% were settled irregularly; a power supply company in Hengyang City did not categorize and summarize the electricity fee settlements for household non-natural persons and commercial and industrial distributed PV. As of the end of September 2024, the power supply company had accumulated 19.24 million yuan in unpaid distributed PV electricity fees. By the end of January 2025, 14.5847 million yuan had been settled, with 4.6553 million yuan remaining unsettled: 581,500 yuan due to internal customer disputes and voluntary suspension of settlement, and 4.0738 million yuan due to customers not issuing invoices.

[SMM Analysis:Accelerated Inventory Reduction and the Turning Point of Inventory] After experiencing an inventory buildup during the Chinese New Year holiday and the accelerated supply of copper cathodes in the first quarter exceeding expectations, which led to a rapid accumulation of social copper cathode inventory in China, the total social inventory of copper cathodes reached a peak on March 3rd. Following that, due to factors such as improved downstream consumption, better price ratios, and continuous export growth, the inventory of copper cathodes saw a sharp decline starting from early March. Does this indicate that the inventory turning point has arrived? Is this trend of inventory reduction sustainable?