Please see below, an article from EPIC Investment Partners highlighting recent developments for energy storage. Received today – 30/10/2025
Last week we highlighted the emergence of Long Duration Energy Storage, also referred to as energy storage systems (ESS). The advent of AI, and the consequent rapid development of new larger data centres, has ‘shifted the curve’ of power consumption forecasts across the globe. Simultaneously the roll out of green generation (particularly solar and wind) has left most countries struggling to upgrade their power transmission infrastructure to cope with the variable nature of green power generation. Some are coping better than others but it appears a widespread issue.
The ESS industry is in its infancy. In 2024 ESS installations reached 74.9 gigawatts (gw). China (39gw) dominates while the US (12.3gw) is also a significant player. Bloomberg NEF forecasts that installations will double by 2027 (to 137.7gw) and, in round numbers, double again to 243.4gw by 2035.
Recent regulatory oversight has been confusing in both China and the United States. The removal of storage mandates in China for renewables earlier this year was a big concern, but new energy storage targets were set in September and underline China’s commitment to ESS. In the US, some federal policy shifts introduced uncertainty due to frequent changes in import tariffs while new restrictions on the use of Chinese equipment were equally unhelpful.
US market players are adapting to this new environment supported principally by US based battery manufacturing initiatives by leading Korean firms. Battery technology is moving at a rapid pace. Sodium-ion batteries are the latest development. While lithium batteries are lighter (thus widely used for EVs) sodium-ion batteries are cheaper, safer and perform better in extreme cold. They are, therefore, ideal batteries for ESS. There is no shortage of sodium. CATL, the world’s largest battery producer by some margin, expects to start production of sodium-ion batteries in the first quarter of 2026. There is no doubt that the other players, Chinese and Korean, will follow suit. Rapid growth is set to continue.
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Alex Kitteringham
30th October 2025