China's power reforms, global data center buildout usher in battery boom

A revamp of China's electricity market is boosting the economies of storing power just as international demand surges, sparking a boom for the Chinese energy storage manufacturers that already dominate globally.

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Chinese firms are on track for a 75% jump this year in global shipments of lithium-ion battery cells for energy storage, according to one estimate.

‘They have exported more than $65 billion worth of storage and electric vehicle (EV) batteries this year, cementing their dominance in a sector vital to backing up wind and solar and keeping power coursing through artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

‘The surge in sales is driven by data centers and renewables domestically, as well as by Chinese reforms and subsidies that are boosting general demand for energy storage. International demand is rising in tandem with the surging growth in data centers, a need to back up Europe’s ageing grid and China’s burgeoning renewable energy business in the Middle East, analysts say.

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