Energy storage
Battery cells and grid or behind-the-meter storage. 108 GW was added worldwide in 2025, up 40% on 2024 (IEA).
This market makes rechargeable battery cells, mostly lithium-ion, and builds them into storage systems. Utilities, independent power producers, businesses, homes and data centres buy those systems to shift electricity across the day and to keep the grid stable. Utility-scale projects made up about four-fifths of the battery storage capacity added worldwide in 2025. China accounted for about 60% of those additions, followed by the United States and Europe. The IEA links the growth to battery costs falling more than 90% between 2010 and 2025, to more wind and solar on the grid, and to short build times. It names regulatory uncertainty and grid-connection and permitting delays as the main barriers.
new market · sits inside NAICS 335910 · researched 2026-11-14
installed capacity (annual battery storage additions, utility-scale + behind-the-meter) · world108
↗GW · 2025
installed capacity (operational utility-scale battery storage, end of year) · US43.6
↗GW · 2025
units shipped (EV battery deployment; EVs = more than 70% of all battery deployment) · world1.2
↗TWh · 2025
manufacturing capacity (lithium-ion nameplate, end of year) · world4
↗TWh (stated as 'more than 4 TWh') · 2025
G
Growth
Dated and sourced; forecasts are labelled as forecasts.
- 2026-05IEA: global battery storage additions reached 108 GW in 2025, up around 40% from 2024. That is above the historical peak for gas-fired capacity additions (about 107 GW in 2002). The average duration of projects commissioned rose to three hours, from about two hours in 2023. ↗
- 2026-08EIA: US utility-scale battery capacity grew an average of 70% a year over three years, reaching 43.6 GW at end-2025 and nearly 52 GW by mid-2026. Operators PLAN (reported plans, not completed) a further 14 GW in H2 2026, 26 GW in 2027 and 14 GW in 2028. ↗
- 2026-05IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 PROJECTION: EV battery deployment reaches almost 3 TWh by 2030 in both its CPS and STEPS scenarios, up from about 1.2 TWh in 2025. The IEA also notes that stationary storage is absorbing reduced EV-related battery demand in the US. ↗
- 2026-05IEA: LFP accounted for over 90% of global stationary battery storage installations in 2025. In 2025, LFP packs were more than 40% cheaper per kWh on average than NMC packs. ↗
S
Segments
Each linked segment has its own page with its companies.
- Battery cells 8 — Lithium-ion cells (LFP for stationary use, NMC/NCA mainly for EVs) and emerging sodium-ion and solid-state cells
- Utility-scale battery storage 6 — Grid-connected systems, often co-located with solar, used for energy shifting, capacity and ancillary services; about 87 GW added worldwide in 2025 (IEA)
- Behind-the-meter storage — Commercial and residential batteries installed on the customer side of the meter, often paired with rooftop solar
- Long-duration energy storage 3 — Non-lithium systems such as iron-air (100-hour), zinc batteries and compressed-air storage for multi-hour to multi-day shifting
- Storage system integrators & software 3 — Integrators that buy cells, add power conversion, controls and bidding software, and deliver turnkey projects
- Data-centre battery UPS — Short-duration backup batteries; capacity additions rose 30% to 45 GW in 2025 (IEA)
C
Leading companies in energy storage
14 companies, with the scale each source states.
| Company | Where | What they do | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) 300750.SZ ↗ | Ningde, China since 2011 | Lithium-ion battery cells and systems for EVs and energy storage | revenue: 423.7 CNY billions (2025) ↗ |
| BYD 1211.HK ↗ | Shenzhen, China since 1995 | Makes vehicles and batteries, including its own cells and energy storage systems. Scale shown is revenue for the whole group. | revenue: 804 CNY billions (group, all segments) (2025) ↗ |
| LG Energy Solution 373220.KS ↗ | Seoul, South Korea since 2020 | EV and ESS lithium-ion batteries. It has moved some US capacity to LFP for the storage market, and it is the partner in Windsor's NextStar plant. | — |
| Samsung SDI 006400.KS ↗ | Yongin, South Korea since 1970 | Lithium-ion cells for EVs, energy storage and electronics | revenue: 17.24 USD billions (company total) (2023) ↗ |
| SK On ↗ | Seoul, South Korea | Lithium-ion battery cells, mainly for EVs | — |
| EVE Energy 300014.SZ ↗ | Huizhou, China since 2001 | Lithium-ion cells, including LFP cells for energy storage | — |
| Sungrow Power Supply 300274.SZ ↗ | Hefei, China since 1997 | Inverters and integrated battery energy storage systems | revenue: 72.25 CNY billions (company total) (2023) ↗ |
| Tesla Energy TSLA ↗ | Austin, United States since 2015 | Megapack (utility-scale) and Powerwall (home) battery storage systems | capacity (energy storage deployed in year): 46.7 GWh (2025) ↗ |
| Fluence Energy FLNC ↗ | Arlington, VA, United States | Integrates utility-scale battery storage systems and provides bidding and optimization software | revenue: 2,262.8 USD millions (fiscal year ended 2025-09-30) (2025) ↗ |
| Eos Energy Enterprises EOSE ↗ | Pittsburgh, PA, United States | Zinc-based battery storage systems for grid use; a non-lithium alternative | revenue: 114.2 USD millions (2025) ↗ |
| Form Energy ↗ | Somerville, MA, United States since 2017 | Iron-air batteries that store electricity for 100 hours. Its plant is in Weirton, WV. Reported 2026 deals: Google, 30 GWh; Crusoe, 12 GWh. | — |
| NextStar Energy ↗ | Windsor, ON, Canada | Windsor plant that began EV battery modules in 2024 and ESS battery cells in November 2025 | investment (total announced): 5,000 CAD millions (2,500 jobs) (2026) ↗ |
| Electrovaya ELVA ↗ | Mississauga, ON, Canada since 1996 | Lithium-ion batteries and battery systems for material handling, heavy-duty vehicles and energy storage. It has operations in New York State. | — |
| Hydrostor ↗ | Toronto, ON, Canada since 2010 | Compressed-air energy storage, a long-duration, non-battery technology. It has a facility in Goderich, ON. | — |
CA
In Canada
- 2024-05Ontario's IESO offered contracts to 10 battery storage facilities for 1,784 MW through its LT1 RFP. The IESO called it 'the single largest procurement of battery storage ever in Canada'. The projects are due in service between 2026 and 2028. ↗
- 2026-03Federal Clean Technology ITC: a 30% refundable credit (20% if labour requirements are not met) that covers stationary electricity storage systems that do not use fossil fuels. It applies to property available for use from 2023-03-28; the rate halves in 2034 and the credit ends in 2035. ↗
- 2026-10NextStar Energy's C$5B Windsor plant (2,500 jobs) began making battery cells for energy storage systems in November 2025, after starting EV modules in 2024. Federal production support is between C$9,704M and C$14,556M (SCA), plus C$500M (SRF) and C$4,852M from the province. ↗
- 2026-10PowerCo (Volkswagen) began building its C$7B cell plant in St. Thomas, ON, in fall 2025, with operations expected in 2028 (EV-focused). ↗
R
What would have to be true
- Growth depends on grid connection, permitting and regulatory certainty; the IEA names these as the barriers that will set the pace. In Europe, the US and Japan, projects typically take 2 to 2.5 years to reach operation.
- Cell supply is concentrated in companies headquartered in China, Korea and Japan. Tariffs, trade or sourcing rules could raise costs for North American buyers or shut them out of some supply.
- Lithium prices in early 2026 were more than twice their level a year earlier (IEA). If that persists, it could reverse some of the record-low LFP battery prices.
- Planned US additions (26 GW in 2027 per EIA) are operators' plans, not commitments. Weaker EV demand could also leave North American cell plants depending on storage orders alone.
Quick answers
- How big is the energy storage market?
- installed capacity (annual battery storage additions, utility-scale + behind-the-meter) (world): 108 GW, 2025 — International Energy Agency; installed capacity (operational utility-scale battery storage, end of year) (US): 43.6 GW, 2025 — U.S. Energy Information Administration.
- Is the energy storage market growing?
- IEA: global battery storage additions reached 108 GW in 2025, up around 40% from 2024. That is above the historical peak for gas-fired capacity additions (about 107 GW in 2002). The average duration of projects commissioned rose to three hours, from about two hours in 2023.
- Who are the leading energy storage companies?
- CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) (China), BYD (China), LG Energy Solution (South Korea), Samsung SDI (South Korea), SK On (South Korea), EVE Energy (China), Sungrow Power Supply (China), Tesla Energy (United States), and 6 more in the table above.
- Which energy storage companies are publicly traded?
- CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) (300750.SZ), BYD (1211.HK), LG Energy Solution (373220.KS), Samsung SDI (006400.KS), EVE Energy (300014.SZ), Sungrow Power Supply (300274.SZ), Fluence Energy (FLNC), Eos Energy Enterprises (EOSE), Electrovaya (ELVA).
- Which Canadian companies are in energy storage?
- NextStar Energy, Windsor, ON; Electrovaya, Mississauga, ON; Hydrostor, Toronto, ON.
- What is happening with energy storage in Canada?
- Ontario's IESO offered contracts to 10 battery storage facilities for 1,784 MW through its LT1 RFP. The IESO called it 'the single largest procurement of battery storage ever in Canada'. The projects are due in service between 2026 and 2028.
- What are the main segments of the energy storage market?
- Battery cells, Utility-scale battery storage (BESS), Behind-the-meter storage, Long-duration storage, System integration and software, Data-centre battery UPS.
- What are the risks in the energy storage market?
- Growth depends on grid connection, permitting and regulatory certainty; the IEA names these as the barriers that will set the pace. In Europe, the US and Japan, projects typically take 2 to 2.5 years to reach operation.
Sources (23)
- Battery storage is scaling up and taking on a larger system role — International Energy Agency
- Technology: Battery storage - Global Energy Review 2026 — International Energy Agency
- Electric vehicle batteries - Global EV Outlook 2026 — International Energy Agency
- Executive summary - Batteries and Secure Energy Transitions — International Energy Agency
- Battery storage capacity averaged 70% growth over the last three years — U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Solar, battery storage to lead new U.S. generating capacity additions in 2025 — U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Resource Adequacy Update: Adding 2,195 MW of Capacity to the Grid — Independent Electricity System Operator (Ontario)
- Report on Federal Tax Expenditures 2026: part 4 — Department of Finance Canada
- Appearance before the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology (INDU) by the Minister of Industry — Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Tesla Fourth Quarter 2025 Production, Deliveries & Deployments (8-K Ex. 99.1) — Tesla, Inc. / SEC EDGAR
- Fluence Energy, Inc. XBRL company facts — SEC EDGAR
- Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. XBRL company facts — SEC EDGAR
- Contemporary Amperex Technology — Wikipedia
- BYD Company — Wikipedia
- LG Energy Solution — Wikipedia
- Samsung SDI — Wikipedia
- SK On — Wikipedia
- EVE Energy — Wikipedia
- Sungrow — Wikipedia
- Tesla Energy — Wikipedia
- Form Energy — Wikipedia
- Electrovaya — Wikipedia
- Hydrostor — Wikipedia