DJI is the newest big player in the portable power station world. Most people know them as a drone company, but lately they’ve been moving into backup power, starting by releasing the DJI Power 500 and Power 1000 power stations. More recently, they released the DJI Power 2000, which shows they aren’t just dipping their toes into portable power.
If you’ve seen our reviews of those units, you’ll know we have been impressed. But who is DJI, and why are they suddenly making power stations? And didn’t we find out some of their former employees founded EcoFlow in our last Behind the Brand?
Today, we’re pulling back the curtain to see how DJI went from a dorm room project to the world’s most dominant drone maker. More importantly, we're going to explore how they’re becoming a legitimate competitor in the portable power industry.
DJI’s story starts in 2006 with Frank Wang, a student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who was obsessed with aerial robotics. He got his start working on prototypes in his dorm room before founding DJI, which is short for Da Jiang Innovations (roughly translated as Great Frontier Innovations).
At first, the company focused on drone components like flight controllers and propulsion systems. WHile their first success was the E310 motor system, the real breakthrough came in 2013 with the release of the DJI Phantom series. These drones were different: they were easier to fly, harder to crash, and more beginner-friendly than anything else on the market.
That accessibility changed everything. Suddenly, drones weren’t just for specialists. YouTubers, hobbyists, and photographers could pick them up and get the type of professional-looking aerial shots that used to be reserved for big-budget Hollywood flicks.
By 2015, the Phantom 3 with its live-streaming camera took things to another level, making DJI the global leader in consumer drones.
From there, DJI doubled down. They launched the DJI Inspire Series for professionals and the DJI Mavic Series for people who wanted something portable but powerful. The company started to establish a clear pattern: release a product, improve it, release the next version, and improve it again. Accessories followed too, giving users the ability to customize and upgrade their drones.
If you have watched our video review of the DJI Power 2000, this pattern of improving a product, then releasing a boatload of accessories will sound familiar.
Even with their relatively fast drone dominance, DJI hasn’t had it all easy. In the United States, concerns about national security led to proposals to restrict Chinese-made drones, especially after DJI drones were seen being used in conflicts like the War in Ukraine (by both sides).
American fans of DJI and supporters of foreign drone companies argued that bans would disrupt industries like real estate, search and rescue, and event photography, all of which rely on affordable drone technology. In the end, the bans didn’t go through, but the controversy and concerns that their products will be banned still hangs over the company.
Whether that pressure was part of the motivation or not, DJI has since started diversifying their product offerings. Beyond drones, they have launched GoPro-style cameras, podcast microphones, hand-held camera stabilizers, e-bike parts, even combat robots (trust us, it’s worth watching).
And, as you probably guessed, they officially entered the portable power station market in April 2024.
Their debut came with the DJI Power 1000, a quiet, well-built power station designed with creators in mind. It was powerful enough for cameras, laptops, and even some home backup, but quiet enough to use in a studio without ruining audio recordings. It is also equipped with SDC ports that were specifically designed for fast-charging DJI drones and other accessories.
Shortly after, they launched the smaller Power 500, a budget-friendly option with the same polished design and quiet operation. It's basically the exact same thing as the Power 1000, just scaled back for portability and affordability.
And then, just last year, they went bigger with the release of the DJI Power 2000. The Power 2000 is very lightweight for its size and battery capacity. It also comes with a 30A plug, and supports expansion batteries. DJI also released a wheeled hand truck so you can move it around with expansion batteries attached.
Unlike some brands that launch a power station and walk away, DJI has pretty much immediately followed up these releases with accessories, like car chargers, extra solar input adaptors, Wi-Fi dongles, carrying cases, extra cables, and much more. All of these extras are designed to expand what the base units can do.
That commitment to improving their existing products shows they’re serious about becoming a real player in the market, and they're not just testing the portable power waters. It’s also something we really like to see from any power station brand, as it allows buyers to upgrade what they already own, rather than having to go out and buy a completely new unit if they need more power, or just want to take advantage of the latest features.
If you watched our previous Behind the Brand on EcoFlow, you’ll remember that some of its founders actually came from DJI. In fact, they all worked in DJI’s battery department. This actually makes a lot of sense when you consider the fact that the first few EcoFlow power station releases were basically just crowd-funded portable batteries.
That link is also important because it shows how much expertise DJI already had in battery technology. After years of building drones, they were sitting on a huge amount of experience in battery chemistry, portability, fast charging technology, and battery management.
Looking back, it almost seems like it was only a matter of time before DJI would try their hand at power stations. Today, DJI already seems like a genuine EcoFlow competitor, as a lot of their power stations have a similar design to EcoFlow's DELTA power stations.
Just take the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus and DJI Power 1000 power stations—we recently compared them, and they could be brothers!
We believe that DJI’s decision to enter the power station space is a big deal. They’ve already proven they can design sleek, reliable products and back them up with a full ecosystem of accessories. Plus, they're just huge and very rich company, so they have the type of resources that will allow them to create new and exciting products. That’s exactly the kind of competition that pushes other brands like EcoFlow, Anker SOLIX, Pecron, and Bluetti to keep innovating.
What makes DJI interesting is how they started by targeting creatives and drone users, but are quickly moving into home backup and solar power systems with larger units like the Power 2000.
If the rumors about even more powerful releases in the future are true, they may be setting their sights on directly going head-to-head with EcoFlow — the company their former employees helped build.
DJI may be new to portable power stations, but their first three products have already been really impressive. They’re extremely quiet, lightweight, well-designed, and they’re compatible with a fast-growing ecosystem of accessories. That’s not something you can say about every brand in this space.
For drone pilots, filmmakers, or anyone who values portable power that doesn’t sound like a fighter jet engine, DJI is an obvious fit. But even for people just looking for basic home backup or off-grid camping power, their reputation for reliability and design makes them a brand worth keeping an eye on.
We’ll keep testing their power stations as they come out, but if the Power 500, 1000, and 2000 are any indication, DJI isn’t here to mess around. They’re here to compete.
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