Global lithium ion battery demand rose 29% in 2025

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, specialising in EV and battery supply chain research and insights, reports that global lithium ion battery demand increased by 29% in 2025 to reach 1.59TWh. This growth was driven by rising demand across EVs, BESS, and other battery applications, with BESS in particular gaining share in the overall mix.

Battery demand by sector

The share of total battery demand accounted for by EVs continued to edge lower, even as absolute demand from the sector increased. EVs represented 75% of global battery demand in 2025, down from 77% in 2024 and 79% in 2023.

Portables also saw their share eroded, slipping from 6% of total demand in 2024 to 5% in 2025. Although both EVs and Portables recorded year-on-year growth in GWh terms, the pace of expansion was slower than in the BESS segment.

BESS remained the fastest-growing major end-use segment. Battery demand from BESS increased by 51% in 2025, compared with 26% growth in demand from the EV sector, resulting in a continued rebalancing of demand towards stationary storage.

Regional variation

Regional demand patterns diverged significantly in 2025.

In North America, BESS gained a much larger foothold in the demand mix, accounting for 26% of total battery demand, up from 16% in 2024. This came as EV demand growth slowed, in part reflecting the impact of changes to Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit eligibility in the US.

In Europe, EVs remained the dominant driver of battery demand. The EV share of total battery demand increased to 85% in 2025, from 77% in 2024, highlighting the region’s continued focus on light-duty electrification. BESS, by contrast, saw its share of total demand fall from 16% to 8% over the same period.

In China, EVs continued to account for the bulk of battery demand, with their share stable at 77% in both 2024 and 2025. However, BESS gained further ground, with its share of total battery demand rising from 16% in 2024 to 19% in 2025. Notably, in December 2025, BESS accounted for 45% of battery demand on account of a record month.

Chemistry trends

LFP remained the fastest-growing battery chemistry in 2025, with demand increasing by 48% year-on-year. This was underpinned by rapid growth in the global BESS market and by continued expansion of China’s EV market, both domestically and through rising vehicle exports.

Nickel-based chemistries also saw year-on-year demand growth in absolute terms. However, their overall share of global battery demand declined in 2025, as strong gains in LFP outpaced growth in nickel-containing cathode demand.

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