Gleaning insights from German energy transition and large-scale underground energy storage for China’s carbon neutrality

The global energy transition is a widespread phenomenon that requires international exchange of experiences and mutual learning. Germany’s success in its first phase of energy transition can be attributed to its adoption of smart energy technology and implementation of electricity futures and spot marketization, which enabled the achievement of multiple energy spatial–temporal complementarities and overall grid balance through energy conversion and reconversion technologies. While China can draw from Germany’s experience to inform its own energy transition efforts, its 11-fold higher annual electricity consumption requires a distinct approach. We recommend a clean energy system based on smart sector coupling (ENSYSCO) as a suitable pathway for achieving sustainable energy in China, given that renewable energy is expected to guarantee 85% of China’s energy production by 2060, requiring significant future electricity storage capacity. Nonetheless, renewable energy storage remains a significant challenge. We propose four large-scale underground energy storage methods based on ENSYSCO to address this challenge, while considering China’s national conditions. These proposals have culminated in pilot projects for large-scale underground energy storage in China, which we believe is a necessary choice for achieving carbon neutrality in China and enabling efficient and safe grid integration of renewable energy within the framework of ENSYSCO.