As the world's largest producer and consumer of portable power banks, China's power bank industry is undergoing a profound transformation after more than two decades of rapid expansion. Driven by the implementation of mandatory national standards and shifting consumer demands, the industry is transitioning from a focus on "competing on price and capacity" to "competing on safety and technology." This trillion-yuan track is now completely bidding farewell to low-price involution and entering a new stage of high-quality development.

For a long time, the power bank market has been trapped in a vicious price war characterized by "falsified capacities and corner-cutting." Some products were even priced near the cost of raw materials, leading to frequent safety hazards. To curb the phenomenon of "bad money driving out good," China's first mandatory national standard for portable power banks, GB 47372-2026 Safety Technical Specification for Portable Power Banks, was officially released in April 2026 and will come into effect on April 1, 2027.

Dubbed the "strictest ever" by the industry, this new regulation establishes a "one-vote veto system" for safety at the source. The standard introduces rigorous testing for the first time, including battery nail penetration tests and 300-cycle lithium precipitation detection, significantly raising the protection threshold for cells under extreme conditions such as high temperatures, overcharging, and crushing. Additionally, it requires products to feature dual protection circuits, overcharge lockouts, and abnormal information storage functions, while implementing unique product coding management to allow consumers to clearly trace battery brands and safe service lives. The 12-month transition period provides a buffer for consumers and sufficient time for the supply chain to achieve compliance.

The implementation of the new national standard has directly led to a structural increase in production costs and triggered a deep reshuffling of the power bank supply chain. In the battery cell segment, high-quality cells capable of passing extreme tests like nail penetration and high-temperature abuse are now highly concentrated among leading enterprises with power battery technology backgrounds. A large number of small and medium-sized cell manufacturers that fail to meet compliance requirements are facing elimination. Industry insiders predict that 70% of low-end cell capacity will gradually be cleared in the future.

On the brand side, the "Matthew Effect" has further intensified. Leading companies such as Anker, Ugreen, and Baseus have quickly responded to the new regulations by launching compliant products, leveraging their deep R&D capabilities and mature channel layouts. Some have even applied automotive-grade battery management technology to consumer electronics. In contrast, small and medium-sized brands lacking R&D and financial strength are being forced to exit the market or transform into contract manufacturers due to their inability to bear certification and production line renovation costs. The industry's competitive logic is shifting from simply "competing on specs and price" to a positive track of "competing on systemic safety and overall technology."

Beyond policy regulations, breakthroughs in smartphone battery technology are also forcing the power bank industry to transform. With the application of new materials like silicon-carbon anodes, smartphones have officially entered the "10,000mAh era." Coupled with the widespread availability of public charging facilities, "battery anxiety" in daily commuting scenarios has been significantly reduced. Surveys show that some users of 10,000mAh smartphones no longer carry power banks regularly.

Facing the challenge of slowing growth in personal consumer products, leading companies are breaking out of the traditional "phone accessory" positioning and extending into high-value scenarios such as outdoor emergencies, home energy storage, and multi-device power supply. The mass production of semi-solid-state battery technology has made high-capacity power banks thinner and lighter, while "outdoor gadgets" integrating camping lights, smartwatch charging, and even camera tripods are becoming new growth drivers.

From disorderly competition to orderly development, this transformation in China's power bank industry is not only an inevitable choice for manufacturing to adhere to safety standards but also a vivid microcosm of the leap from "Made in China" to "Quality Made in China." In the future, with the large-scale application of safety technologies such as ceramic separators and semi-solid-state batteries, the industry will reshape global consumer trust and expectations with safer and smarter product forms.