Beijing freezes plant approvals for energy-storage batteries amid overcapacity fears

Beijing has put a freeze on new approvals of production facilities for energy-storage batteries amid worries about excess supply and vicious price competition, according to industry officials.

Companies had not been allowed to add new capacity since May, as key regulators like the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) stepped in to curb a construction spree that risked creating severe overcapacity despite rising demand from renewable-energy projects around the world, the sources...