While the world talks about renewable energy, a silent revolution is happening in storage technology. The numbers don’t lie—94 GW/247 GWh projected for 2025 alone, a whopping 35% jump from last year. And that’s not even counting pumped hydro. Pretty impressive, right?
Big batteries are suddenly everywhere. Gigawatt-hour projects are popping up faster than coffee shops—the US, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia. Even the Netherlands is getting in on the action. Nobody wants to be left behind in this race.
Grid-scale installations have already hit 12,314 MW power with 37,143 MWh energy capacity. That’s a lot of zeros.
The market’s exploding. Cell shipments reached 410.45 GWh in just the first nine months of 2025—almost double last year’s numbers. Q3 set a new record with 170.24 GWh shipped in a single quarter. China’s leading the pack, naturally. Their system shipments alone will surpass 320 GWh this year.
But there’s trouble brewing. Supply chains are stretched thin. Battery manufacturers can’t keep up with the insane demand, and it’s creating bottlenecks everywhere. The market flipped from oversupply to tight balance in 2025, with prices creeping upward. Major relief won’t come until late 2026 when new production capacity finally comes online. Dongying Times New Energy Technology exemplifies this expansion with their 40 GWh manufacturing base under construction in Shandong.
Regional differences matter. The US is sticking with NMC batteries for utility-scale projects through 2027, even as everyone else shifts to LFP. Blame those high tariffs on Chinese imports. The recent policy changes have caused energy storage system costs to inflate by 30% in 2025 due to President Trump’s increased tariffs.
Meanwhile, China’s busy reforming their renewable energy pricing system—solving long-standing issues with wind and solar integration. These reforms align with the growing thermal energy storage market, which provides efficiency improvements of 30-60% while acting as a heat reservoir for later use.
The real story? This $5.12 trillion market isn’t slowing down. With 14.7% compound growth through 2035, we’re headed toward 220 GW/972 GWh annually. Batteries aren’t just accessories anymore—they’re the main event. The revolution isn’t coming. It’s already here.
References
- https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/global-energy-storage-growth-upheld-by-new-markets/
- https://www.energytrend.com/news/20260107-50719.html
- https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/global-energy-storage-industrys-growth-to-slow-to-30-40-in-2026-insiders-say
- https://www.infolink-group.com/energy-article/energy-storage-topic-global-battery-shipment-ranking-3Q25
- https://www.startus-insights.com/innovators-guide/energy-storage-trends/
- https://discoveryalert.com.au/energy-storage-systems-lithium-market-2026/
- https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/12/global-energy-2026-growth-resilience-and-competition/
- https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/features/2025-in-data-power-capacity-and-generation-deals-and-job-trends/
