China's shipping container industry is breaking new ground across an ever-expanding range of uses, from modular building blocks for urban spaces to core equipment in the new energy sector.

In 2024, China's total container output exceeded 8.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units, up 268.2 percent year on year, setting a new record. The country accounted for 96 percent of global container production and sales.

On the morning of April 8, more than 50 newly produced containers were neatly lined up at the yard of Dongfang International Container (Qidong) Co., Ltd. in Qidong, east China's Jiangsu Province. Within hours, they would be shipped to Yangshan Port in Shanghai and delivered to eagerly awaiting European clients.

"Today's container manufacturing is far more than just welding metal boxes," said Zhai Jianxing, a technical manager with years of industry experience. He noted that the rapid rise of the new energy industry has driven surging demand for energy storage containers.

"A standard shipping container typically comes with a two-year warranty, while an energy storage container is designed to last more than 20 years and must meet far more stringent standards for explosion prevention, fire safety, corrosion resistance and overall protection," said Zhai.

The challenge is further complicated by the need to meet varying international standards, he added.

Zhai's company is now focusing on breakthroughs in bio-based materials, exploring the use of corn stalks in container manufacturing.

These material breakthroughs have transformed simple welded metal boxes into high-tech products. The innovation has upgraded traditional shipping containers while expanding their use into new energy generation, energy storage, data centers and modular construction.

In an industrial park in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, containers have been repurposed into mobile integrated energy stations.

Earlier this year, a State Grid-backed project in Cixi focused on compact renewable energy technology was put into operation. The system produces electricity, heat, and hydrogen, and what once spread across 12,000 square meters is now integrated into a single white container, reducing the footprint to just 14 square meters.