Brazilian manufacturer UCB Power and Jinko ESS, the Brazilian subsidiary of Chinese storage company JinkoSolar, have signed a memorandum of understanding to localize the production of energy storage systems in Brazil. The deal was reported on Friday (28) by Painel S.A., the business column of Folha de S.Paulo. Its target is the LRCAP-BESS, a government capacity reserve auction for battery storage scheduled for December.
According to Folha, the memorandum provides for an assessment of the conditions to manufacture Jinko ESS storage solutions in Brazil under local content rules. The supply chain is drawn along clear lines: technology and system design come from the Chinese parent company, while production would fall to UCB Power. Meeting local content requirements widens both companies' access to projects that demand Brazilian-made products, including those expected to emerge from the December auction.
UCB Power is a Brazilian storage systems maker with plants in Manaus, in the Amazon, and Extrema, in Minas Gerais. In 2024, local outlet TV Uai reported that the company was growing about 20% a year and had signed a similar memorandum with American firm Powin, aimed at large batteries above 30 megawatts (MW), also with an eye on the auction run by Aneel, Brazil's electricity regulator. The Jinko ESS deal shows the company is still seeking a foreign technology partner to scale up local output.
A small market and a large bet
Brazil's storage market remains small relative to its potential. According to figures cited by TV Uai in 2024, the country had roughly 660 MW installed, while the world had commissioned 155 GW the previous year. Absae, the Brazilian energy storage industry association, estimated at the time that an auction offering 2 GW of power and 8 GWh of capacity could draw up to R$ 40 billion (about US$ 7.5 billion) in investment by 2030. The final rules of the December auction will determine the real size of that demand.
For producers, the memorandum opens a path toward a domestic supply chain for utility-scale batteries, with factories, suppliers and jobs in Brazil instead of direct imports from China. For consumers, the effect is indirect and hinges on the auction: storage systems hold solar and wind power generated outside peak hours and release it when the grid needs it most, which tends to lower the risk of shortfalls and ease pressure on electricity rates during high-demand periods.