China Energy News reporter Wu Li Wang Lin Lu Qixiu
The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce recently released the list of "China's Top 500 Private Enterprises in 2026". As the rankings change, the pulse of the industry is clearly visible: more and more energy-related private enterprises are on the list. They continue to work hard to ensure energy security, cultivate and expand new productivity, and promote the green transformation of the energy structure, and continue to show strong vitality and resilience.
structural changes
The strong rise of new energy companies injects vitality into the energy transformation
Spreading out the list, the structural changes in the energy industry are clear at a glance: more than 80 petrochemical and chemical companies are among them, and traditional energy private companies, mainly modern refining and chemical companies, still occupy the main seats; at the same time, a large number of companies focusing on new energy vehicles and energy storage batteries have performed eye-catchingly, and are showing the rise of industrial clusters.
Looking at business distribution, the outline of an industrial chain has already taken shape—Sungrow, NIO, and Guoxuan Hi-Tech cover the fields of optical storage equipment, new energy vehicles, and dynamic storage batteries respectively. BYD has deeply integrated multiple links in this chain, forming a linkage effect of R&D synergy, production capacity sharing, and market mutual promotion among vehicles, batteries, and energy storage, transforming technological synergy into global market competitiveness.
This linkage ultimately falls on the product. Second-generation blade battery and flash charging technology, "God's Eye" smart driving, Xuanji A3 smart driving chip, fifth-generation dual-mode technology...
Taking "flash charging" as an example, the charging efficiency of "charging in 5 minutes, fully charging in 9 minutes, and only 3 minutes more at minus 30 degrees Celsius" has made "charging as fast as refueling" from an industry vision to a real experience.
What supports all of this is the company's long-term and high-intensity R&D investment. In the first half of this year, BYD invested 28.9 billion yuan in R&D, which was 2.3 times its net profit.
From "game-breakers" catching up with technology to "exporters" of industry standards, the growth of private enterprises can also be seen in the independent photovoltaic supply chain -
Polycrystalline silicon is the most upstream basic raw material in the photovoltaic industry, and its production capacity and cost are related to my country's clean energy promotion and "double carbon" process to a certain extent. Twenty years ago, the core technology of polysilicon materials had been monopolized by American, Japanese and German companies, and the domestic industry faced the dilemma of "three outsiders" in terms of raw materials, technology and market.
After years of research, GCL Group successfully broke through the overseas technology blockade and became the world's largest polysilicon manufacturer in 2011. It achieved independent guarantee of core raw materials and took the lead in formulating a new version of the national standard "Fluidized Bed Granular Silicon". It continued to set the world's lowest carbon footprint record for silicon-based products and mastered the right to speak in industry technology.
Market access barriers have been effectively broken down, and the capabilities of private enterprises are also constantly expanding. The nuclear power field, which was once considered a "forbidden zone" that was difficult for private capital to enter, is now "open". The reporter learned from the National Energy Administration: In the nuclear power field, a total of 20 private companies have been introduced to participate in 12 nuclear power projects, with a total investment of more than 55 billion yuan, and the shareholding ratio of private companies has increased from the initial 2% to a maximum of 20%.
Zhejiang San'ao Nuclear Power Plant is the first nuclear power project in the country to introduce private enterprise equity participation. As a typical representative of "private investment in nuclear power", Zhejiang Geely Group will hold 2% of the shares in the first phase of the project in 2020, and private capital will hold 10% of the shares in the second phase of the project.
"In recent years, on the new energy track, private enterprises have been very active, the market is responsive, and they can keep up with the pace of industry iterations." According to Lin Boqiang, director of the China Energy Policy Research Institute at Xiamen University, this can not only effectively promote industrial development, but also inject vitality into the energy transformation.
Breakout force
The direction is accurate, the turnaround is quick, the policy is stable, the innovation is deep, the development is more resilient and the confidence is stronger
The photovoltaic industry is undergoing in-depth adjustments, the automobile elimination competition is accelerating, and the competition for power batteries is intensifying... In the face of fierce market competition and rapid industry iteration, accurate implementation, quick decision-making, and implementation are often more effective in winning the initiative.
This year, among Datang Group’s 11 GW centralized procurement, the BC (back contact battery) bidding section has been expanded to 4 GW, accounting for more than 36%. Many central enterprises such as Huaneng, China Power Construction, China Railway 16th Bureau and other centralized procurement have turned to BC. BC has gradually become one of the mainstream technology routes in the industry.
However, just a few years ago, BC was still a niche route in the industry and faced many difficulties such as immature technology, equipment, and yield rate. Choosing an immature technology route means that the investment may be wasted and the market may not buy it.
With insight into the long-term value of BC, LONGi Green Energy launched relevant research and development in 2017, quickly completing the entire process from technology research and judgment to production capacity planning, and fully switched to the BC route in 2023. The flexibility of decision-making and the path of differentiation quickly received market feedback - in the first half of this year, LONGi's BC module sales increased by 125% year-on-year, and BC product shipments accounted for more than 65%.
"Differentiation is not simply the pursuit of being different, but opening up new value space based on technological innovation." Zhong Baoshen, chairman and general manager of LONGi Green Energy, said firmly.
"Just do it when you see it right" is the innate advantage of private enterprises, but the courage to take a differentiated path cannot be separated from the further opening of policy channels.
In April 2025, the National Energy Administration issued the "Notice on Several Measures to Promote the Development of Private Economy in the Energy Sector", lowering the threshold for private enterprise participation in terms of approval, operations, funding and other aspects.
As soon as the policy was liberalized, investment immediately followed. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that in the first two months of this year, the investment amount completed by private enterprises in key projects in the energy field increased by more than 10% year-on-year, covering nuclear power, hydropower, coal and other fields. Market vitality is also reflected in various emerging businesses. Today, private companies account for 9 of the top 10 charging operating companies, and the market share of the three leading private companies reaches 47.9%. Of the 99 green power direct connection projects that have been approved, private companies account for more than half, corresponding to more than 14 million kilowatts of new energy installed capacity. Virtual power plants have been built across the country, with private companies accounting for 45%.
The "15th Five-Year Plan" outline states that "developing and strengthening the private economy" and "guaranteeing equal use of production factors, fair participation in market competition, and effective protection of legitimate rights and interests" in laws and systems, further provides "reassurance" for the development of private enterprises.
If the breakthrough of the photovoltaic industry relies on the selection of technical routes, then the "moat" of power batteries comes more from continuous innovation.
CATL's 2025 annual report shows that the company's annual R&D expenses reached 22.147 billion yuan, with a cumulative investment of more than 90 billion yuan in the past 10 years. It has more than 54,000 domestic and foreign patents, building up technical barriers that are difficult for competitors to catch up in the short term.
Relying on continuous innovation, CATL's Kirin condensed matter battery set the world's highest record for energy density of mass-produced battery cells, and Snapdragon lithium iron phosphate battery set a new global record for power battery charging rate, continuing to push up the industry's technical benchmark.
From laboratories to production lines, from patent walls to the global market, China's private enterprises continue to deepen their efforts in core technology fields, which is changing the balance of competition in the global energy industry - China's photovoltaic modules account for more than 80% of the global market share, and the global market share of power batteries exceeds 60%.
Accurate direction, quick turnaround, stable policies, and deep innovation make China's private enterprises more resilient and confident.
Prospect question
Rely on full-chain layout and transformation to cross the cycle and find a breakthrough path in technological upgrades
Looking at the list in recent years, the differentiation of private energy companies in different tracks is deepening: traditional refining and chemical companies rely on full-chain layout and transformation to stabilize their rankings; photovoltaic companies continue to be under pressure amid cyclical fluctuations; new energy vehicles and energy storage battery companies are expected to continue to rise, becoming an important variable in the trend of the list.
Of course, the rise and fall of ranking cannot simply be equated to the rise and fall of corporate strength. Realistic challenges cannot be ignored: the refining and chemical industry is facing transformation pressure; the photovoltaic industry has rapid technological iterations, shortcomings in intellectual property protection, and rapid technology spillover; competition in the new energy automobile industry has intensified, and profitability and technical barriers have become new watersheds.
How can companies survive the cycle?
There is no standard answer, but the way forward is clear - traditional energy private enterprises rely on full-chain layout and transformation to cross the cycle, while new energy private enterprises are looking for a breakthrough path through technological upgrading. The paths are different, but they all actively seek change amid uncertainty.
Hengli Group, a traditional private refining and chemical enterprise, has been ranked among the top three in the list for many years in a row, relying on its full-chain layout and forward-looking transformation. It is one of the earliest enterprises in China to realize the integration of the entire chain of chemical fibers, textiles, petrochemicals, and new polyester materials. The collaboration between upstream and downstream makes the enterprise's risk resistance ability much higher than that of enterprises in a single link.
In 2022, the petrochemical industry was at a low point. Hengli Group quickly targeted the recovering shipbuilding industry. It only took three years to build a single shipyard that ranks among the top in the world in terms of the number of orders held. The industrial chain expanded from "a drop of oil" and "a piece of cloth" to "a ship". It took a new path in the transformation of traditional industries and made its business volume comparable to that of leading Internet companies.
Looking at the photovoltaic industry, most companies have dropped in ranking. This is the result of multiple factors such as cyclical fluctuations and the company's own strategic choices.
In order to survive, some companies have suspended production capacity expansion and invested more resources in technology and new product research and development. At the same time, they have focused on overseas high-end markets, extended to downstream energy storage and other businesses, and offset the cyclical downturn through internal adjustments.
Sungrow is one example. This company, which initially focused on photovoltaic inverters, has rapidly expanded its energy storage business in recent years and opened up new revenue opportunities. The energy storage sector’s revenue has surpassed that of inverters, accounting for 50% of total revenue in the first half of this year. The ranking on the list has also been rising year after year, from the 304th place it first entered in 2023 to the 122nd this year.
Industry insiders pointed out that the long-term solution for the photovoltaic industry lies in establishing a technological "moat" rather than relying solely on scale expansion and price competition. For industries that are deeply involved in involution, these explorations can provide samples of differentiated development for the industry.
In recent years, the photovoltaic industry has begun to pay more attention to the systematic layout of high-value patents and build a patent protection matrix for new technologies in advance. On the industrial side, there are also market-oriented attempts such as patent pools and patent cross-licensing. At the same time, relevant departments have also continued to improve intellectual property protection measures, unblock rights protection channels, and better protect corporate innovation achievements.
"Private enterprises have strong innovation vitality and have always been a new force in promoting high-quality energy development. Currently, my country's energy green and low-carbon transformation is accelerating, and new models and new business forms are accelerating, providing a new blue ocean for the development of private enterprises." said Wan Jinsong, deputy director of the National Energy Administration.
From global breakthroughs in photovoltaics, batteries to new energy vehicles and other tracks, trekking through cycles time and time again, and breakthroughs towards new things, energy private enterprises are moving forward resolutely in the wave of transformation, constantly writing vivid footnotes to the vitality and resilience of the Chinese economy.
