Development Patterns and Paths of China’s Energy Internet Industry

Energy Internet is crucial for promoting energy transition and revolution, and it has achieved multi-dimensional development in terms of technology, system, and industry. The development of energy Internet involves a wide range of aspects including technology, policy, and business; however, there are relatively few theoretical discussions on the complex coordination relationships within the energy Internet industry. This study identifies the implications of energy Internet from the technology, system, and industry aspects, proposes a technology–mechanism–mode analysis model and a simplified “hanging bell” model for the energy Internet industry, and summarizes the development patterns of China's energy Internet industry as pattern exploration, policy guidance, technology research and development, pattern maturity, policy deficiency, and technology advantage types; practice cases are also summarized. On this basis, the feasible paths for the development of China’s energy Internet industry are analyzed using the “hanging bell” model, focusing on the development cases of the renewable energy, electric vehicle, and hydrogen industries, and specific development paths such as technology enhancement, mechanism enhancement, and mode enhancement are suggested. This study is expected to help understand the development logic of the energy Internet industry and provide references for further exploring the applications and promoting the development scale of the energy Internet.