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Editor for Energy Transition Supply Chains, covering both upstream products like critical minerals and downstream products including energy storage systems and electric vehicles. He has previous experience covering trade flows, tariffs and the effects of geopolitics on supply chains.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminrochecontent/",{"type":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,615,625,633,641,649,671,679,689,697,705],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576,584,596,601,610],{"text":577,"type":578,"marks":579},"The ongoing military conflict in the Middle East presents risks to the implementation and maintenance of ","text",[580],{"type":581,"attrs":582},"textStyle",{"color":583},"",{"text":585,"type":578,"marks":586},"energy storage projects across the region",[587,594],{"type":588,"attrs":589},"link",{"href":590,"uuid":591,"anchor":49,"target":592,"linktype":593},"/article/how-the-middle-east-is-fast-becoming-a-key-player-in-the-bess-industry","ed167b13-1dda-4a8c-8054-734c47d92672","_blank","story",{"type":581,"attrs":595},{"color":583},{"text":597,"type":578,"marks":598},", including the ",[599],{"type":581,"attrs":600},{"color":583},{"text":602,"type":578,"marks":603},"largest projects",[604,608],{"type":588,"attrs":605},{"href":606,"uuid":607,"anchor":49,"target":592,"linktype":593},"/article/sovereign-wealth-funds-support-the-middle-easts-pivot-to-clean-energy-supply-chains","dd5cc0ca-55e4-45c5-9b45-45e858a59fc0",{"type":581,"attrs":609},{"color":583},{"text":611,"type":578,"marks":612},", many of which involve Chinese contractors and suppliers.",[613],{"type":581,"attrs":614},{"color":583},{"type":616,"attrs":617,"content":619},"heading",{"level":618,"textAlign":49},2,[620],{"text":621,"type":578,"marks":622},"Almost a fifth of Chinese OEM offtake is planned for the Middle East",[623],{"type":581,"attrs":624},{"color":583},{"type":573,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":578,"marks":630},"Benchmark’s battery energy storage system (BESS) offtake tracker database, which tracks publicly announced offtake agreements and does not cover all existing players, has recorded 265GWh of publicly announced ex-China offtake orders from Chinese OEMs from January 2025 to March 2025. Among these, the Middle East accounts for 46.8GWh, 17.7% of the total, making it the third-largest growth market after the EU & EFTA & UK and North America.",[631],{"type":581,"attrs":632},{"color":583},{"type":573,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636],{"text":637,"type":578,"marks":638},"Direct shipping to and from the Middle East via the Strait of Hormuz faces security risks, and increased freight costs and insurance premiums, forcing delays to the construction and delivery schedules of some energy storage projects currently under development. Airspace closures and port attacks have further prolonged delivery timelines, while after-sales services and project payment cycles have also become increasingly uncertain.",[639],{"type":581,"attrs":640},{"color":583},{"type":616,"attrs":642,"content":643},{"level":618,"textAlign":49},[644],{"text":645,"type":578,"marks":646},"What proportion of planned projects involves Chinese players?",[647],{"type":581,"attrs":648},{"color":583},{"type":573,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652,657,666],{"text":653,"type":578,"marks":654},"According to ",[655],{"type":581,"attrs":656},{"color":583},{"text":658,"type":578,"marks":659},"Benchmark’s BESS Service",[660,664],{"type":588,"attrs":661},{"href":662,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":592,"linktype":663},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/battery-energy-stationary-storage","url",{"type":581,"attrs":665},{"color":583},{"text":667,"type":578,"marks":668},", energy storage projects in the Middle East potentially affected by the conflict amount to a total of around 55GWh. Of this, 45.4GWh of the projects involve Chinese companies as an EPC contractor or BESS system suppliers.",[669],{"type":581,"attrs":670},{"color":583},{"type":573,"attrs":672,"content":673},{"textAlign":49},[674],{"text":675,"type":578,"marks":676},"The total includes a range of large-scale projects that are underway. In the UAE, a Masdar 19GWh EWEC BESS project and MBR’s 8.4GWh solar BESS project could be affected. A 12.5GWh BYD project and four Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPCC) BESS projects, totaling 8GWh, could also be affected in Saudi Arabia.",[677],{"type":581,"attrs":678},{"color":583},{"type":680,"attrs":681},"blok",{"id":682,"body":683},"df82c0e9-8221-409f-8167-bf71fc9e1948",[684],{"id":685,"_uid":686,"type":687,"component":688,"fixed_height":583,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":583,"fixed_height_tablet":583},"27965330","i-ac158ae4-f21e-47de-a758-0a3759c50b95","visualisation","ContentFlourish",{"type":573,"attrs":690,"content":691},{"textAlign":49},[692],{"text":693,"type":578,"marks":694},"The current situation has led to the emergency evacuation of on-site personnel from Chinese EPC contractors, leaving projects suspended and equipment idle. Installed systems face potential damage from prolonged exposure to harsh environmental conditions without maintenance, while energy storage system suppliers are confronted with inventory backlogs due to completed products being unable to ship as scheduled.",[695],{"type":581,"attrs":696},{"color":583},{"type":573,"attrs":698,"content":699},{"textAlign":49},[700],{"text":701,"type":578,"marks":702},"Calvin Xu, a BESS analyst at Benchmark, said:",[703],{"type":581,"attrs":704},{"color":583},{"type":573,"attrs":706,"content":707},{"textAlign":49},[708],{"text":709,"type":578,"marks":710},"“It is foreseeable that the current instability in the Middle East may persist for several months or longer, further extending project timelines. Chinese companies are therefore likely to reassess the stability of the Middle Eastern market and explore alternative regional opportunities.”",[711],{"type":581,"attrs":712},{"color":583},"The ongoing military conflict in the Middle East presents risks to the implementation and maintenance of energy storage projects across the region, including the largest projects, many of which involve Chinese contractors and suppliers.",[715],{"slug":716,"name":717,"content":718},"calvin-xu","Calvin Xu",{"job_title":719,"image":720,"bio":722,"linkedin":723,"markets_covered":558},"Analyst - BESS",{"filename":721},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/096bdfc0f7/calvin-xu.png","Calvin is a BESS Analyst focusing on China market. He works on daily research of China's BESS projects, legislation and policy analysis. He also works on the monthly and quarterly reports focusing on China market and the OEMs updates. Now he is assisting on the data centre database. Calvin holds a MSc of e-Business Management at University of Warwick. ","https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhengxu0416/","article","Middle East escalation disrupts ESS deployment, Chinese expansion",[727,730],{"slug":728,"name":729},"ess","ESS",{"slug":731,"name":732},"batteries","Batteries","private",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":583,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":583,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":735,"meta_data":736},"asset",{},{"id":738,"alt":583,"name":583,"focus":583,"title":583,"source":583,"filename":739,"copyright":583,"fieldtype":735,"meta_data":740,"is_external_url":50},129069552762665,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9a3e78127e/bm-livent-bessemer-city.png",{},"Mar 10, 2026","10th March 2026",[],[],1783958060748]