Masdar taps Sungrow for Abu Dhabi storage

Masdar has signed an agreement with China’s Sungrow to supply battery energy storage and photovoltaic inverter systems for Abu Dhabi’s round-the-clock renewable energy project, strengthening the supply chain behind one of the world’s most ambitious attempts to make solar power available as firm baseload electricity.

The agreement covers 7.5 gigawatt-hours of Sungrow’s PowerTitan 3.0 battery energy storage systems and 2.6 gigawatts of PV inverter solutions. The equipment will form a major part of the gigascale project being developed by Masdar with Emirates Water and Electricity Company, designed to combine 5.2 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity with 19 gigawatt-hours of battery storage.

The Abu Dhabi project is intended to deliver up to 1 gigawatt of renewable baseload power around the clock, addressing the intermittency that has long limited solar power’s role in electricity systems. Once operational, it is expected to become the largest combined solar and battery storage facility of its kind, covering a vast desert site and supporting Abu Dhabi’s plans to expand clean power while meeting rising demand from industry, technology infrastructure and urban growth.

Sungrow’s role places the Hefei-headquartered company at the centre of a project that is drawing attention across the global energy sector. The company is among the world’s largest suppliers of PV inverters and energy storage systems, with products deployed across utility-scale solar and grid storage schemes in multiple markets. Its PowerTitan platform is designed for large-scale applications requiring higher energy density, thermal management and grid-support capabilities.

The deal also marks another step in Masdar’s push to expand beyond conventional solar and wind development into dispatchable renewable energy, where battery storage allows clean electricity to be supplied after sunset or during periods of weaker generation. Battery costs have fallen sharply over the past decade, enabling developers to consider hybrid solar-plus-storage projects at a scale that was commercially difficult only a few years ago.

Abu Dhabi’s round-the-clock project is being closely watched because it seeks to shift solar from a variable daytime resource into a near-continuous power source. The design relies on oversizing solar generation during daylight hours and storing excess electricity in batteries for later dispatch. That approach is becoming more attractive in markets with high solar irradiation, available land and rising electricity needs.

Masdar and EWEC announced the project in January 2025 during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, presenting it as a benchmark for clean energy reliability. The project is expected to require investment of about $6 billion, with financing planned through equity and project debt. It is also expected to create thousands of jobs during development, construction and operation, while requiring extensive grid integration and advanced control systems.

The agreement with Sungrow comes as Gulf energy markets increase investment in renewable power to reduce domestic reliance on hydrocarbons, preserve more oil and gas for export, and build new industrial capabilities around low-carbon technologies. The UAE has set a strategic objective of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and has been expanding solar capacity through large-scale projects in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Energy demand is also rising as artificial intelligence, data centres, desalination, heavy industry and electrified transport place new pressure on power systems. Abu Dhabi’s model is aimed at showing that renewable energy can support those loads without relying entirely on gas-fired backup. The challenge will be to maintain reliability, manage battery degradation, control costs and integrate large volumes of stored energy into the grid.

For Sungrow, the Masdar contract reinforces its position in the Middle East, where solar developers are building some of the world’s largest and lowest-cost renewable energy projects. The region’s high solar yield makes utility-scale PV highly competitive, but the next phase of deployment increasingly depends on storage, inverters, digital controls and grid services rather than generation capacity alone.

The project also highlights the growing strategic role of China’s clean-energy manufacturers in global decarbonisation. Chinese companies dominate large parts of the solar and battery supply chain, giving developers access to scale and cost advantages, while also raising questions in some markets about supply concentration, technology dependence and trade exposure.