Sungrow hosted a special PhD Talk session at the SNEC PV Power and ESS Expo 2025 in Shanghai. Centered around “Evolving Value, Intelligent Future”, this session explored breakthrough strategies for navigating the cyclical nature of the energy industry and redefining its future through innovation. Sungrow’s PhD talk aims to share valuable industry insights and highlight the concrete initiatives the company has undertaken.
Value-Driven: A Paradigm Shift in the PV Industry
Once considered a supplementary power source, PV—especially when combined with energy storage—is now emerging as a primary energy solution. However, this exponential growth has also intensified the mismatch between power generation and grid capacity, underscoring the urgent need for integrated solar storage systems.
Sungrow introduced its forward-looking Solar Storage Value Evolution Theory, highlighting a shift from cost-based competition to system-level value optimization. The company has redefined inverter technology through five key pillars: All-Day Cost Efficiency, All-scenario Reliability, All-Link Safety, All-Life Smart O&M, and All-Grid Forming—collectively known as the 5A Fusion Solution.
This approach is embodied in Sungrow’s newly launched 1+X 2.0 Modular Inverter and high-power string inverter, both developed under the 5A framework.
“The rules have changed,” said Dr. Nianan Pan, Chief Expert of Sungrow Utility PV Inverter BU. “We’ve moved from a sprint based on cost-per-component to a decathlon focused on holistic system value.”
Sungrow’s legacy of innovation—from launching the industry’s first 1500V inverter to the modular split-type inverter—demonstrates its long-term commitment to driving a system-wide value revolution.
Energy Storage Enters a New Phase of Platformization
In 2024, global energy storage installations surged by nearly 90%. As the market rapidly expands, it’s also undergoing a structural transformation. Diverse regional demands and application scenarios have made one-size-fits-all solutions increasingly obsolete.
Dr. Zhuang Cai, General Manager of Product Management Center at Sungrow's Energy Storage BU, emphasized that global storage demands are becoming more diverse due to differences in regions and applications. This makes single standardized products inadequate for meeting the varied needs across multiple regions and scenarios. Energy storage has entered an era of diverse value, making "platformization" a necessary approach.
With nearly two decades of technical expertise and global project experience, Sungrow unveiled the PowerTitan 3.0 Energy Storage System Platform. This next-generation platform integrates core technologies in electrochemistry, power electronics, and grid support to create modular, reconfigurable clusters tailored to specific needs. It is further supported by five robust platforms: full-chain testing, intelligent manufacturing, panoramic simulation, panoramic testing, and global application data, forming a closed-loop system of "Simulation-Manufacturing-Validation-Innovation". Dr. Cai stressed that true platformization goes beyond just modularizing products; it involves a deep accumulation of technology, products, and data. Sungrow is leading the industry into this new era with foundational technology, modular products, and extensive data, aiming for comprehensive optimization of safety, performance, cost, and lifecycle. This approach is redefining the core of energy storage, strengthening the energy foundation, and offering customers more reliable, safe, intelligent, efficient, and agile services.
“Under our ‘Grid to Cell’ philosophy,” said Priank Cangy, Sungrow’s Overseas Grid Model Manager, “we’re enabling platforms that respond dynamically to real grid events, offering the flexibility, reliability, and maintainability customers expect today.”
Solar and Storage Integration: The Key to Navigating Market Cycles
As solar storage integration accelerates and competition intensifies, Sungrow sees innovation and system optimization as the twin engines for progress. The company is focused on maximizing Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) efficiency, enhancing grid support capabilities, and ensuring long-term project profitability.
Sungrow’s leadership is anchored in four strategic advantages:
28 Years of Deep Industry Expertise
“Triple-E” Technology Foundation (Power Electronics, Electrochemistry, Electrical Grid Support)
Rich Data Assets Enabling Technical Moats
An Innovation Flywheel Driving the Shift from Product Maker to Ecosystem Builder
In the uncharted territories of global energy transition, Sungrow is charting a bold new course—using technology as the pen and system value as the ink—to redraw the blueprint of clean energy integration. From PV to storage, from devices to full ecosystems, this is not just a technological revolution but a transformation of the industry's value paradigm—from scale expansion to value co-creation.
Looking Ahead: From Scale to Sustainability
Patrick Zank, Global Director of Renewable Energy at VDE, emphasized the importance of comprehensive capabilities for future success: “The industry must cultivate deep technical understanding, system-level optimization, and the ability to build closed-loop ecosystems that deliver lasting value.”
Sungrow’s vision is to lead this next phase of the clean energy revolution—not only by manufacturing world-class products but by shaping the standards of tomorrow and building a bridge to a sustainable future. Stay tuned for the next edition of PhD Talk!
