Iola Hughes

China's lithium ion battery exports reached US$8 billion in May 2026, up 37% year-on-year (YOY), bringing the year to May total to $40 billion. That marks a 45% increase on the same period in 2025. According to China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA) data, exports reached 29GWh in May, taking the Jan–May total to 145GWh. The year to May figures reflect a front-loaded quarter. March exports hit a record $9.7 billion, likely driven in part by exporters pulling forward shipments ahead of the 1 April cut to the battery export rebate. Levels normalised in April and May, but remain well ahead of the same months in 2025.

The US’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued one of its most consequential grid actions in years on 18 June, directing all six US regional grid operators to justify or reform their tariffs for connecting large load (>20MW) energy users, such as AI data centres, crypto mining and advanced manufacturing facilities. The order aims to accelerate the ability for large loads to connect to the grid while ensuring reliable and affordable electricity for US consumers.

The battery energy stationary storage (BESS) market has grown significantly over the last five years, with this growth is set to continue. Benchmark’s BESS database has now surpassed 10,000 unique projects, both operating and in the pipeline. This is nearly nine times the number of projects Benchmark tracked in the May 2022 edition of the BESS database. The average size of the projects in the database has increased significantly, too, from 193MWh in 2022 to 316MWh today.

China’s battery exports remained strong in April, despite expectations of a dip following frontloading in March. That uptick came in anticipation of the reduction in the battery export rebate, which fell from 9% to 6% from 1 April. Yet despite an 18% fall from March in April, lithium-ion battery exports grew 30% in dollar terms year-on-year in April, to US$8 billion, and 42% year-on-year in GWh terms to 31.7GWh.

Both CATL and BYD have made announcements renewing their commitment to fast charging this year, pushing faster, ultra-high charging speeds up to 15C even as existing technologies have approached the refuelling time of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Competition between the two firms on charging speed, highlighted again at CATL’s 2026 Tech Day event last month, comes as progress on energy density has slowed for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

In 2025, over 600GWh of cells were shipped globally for battery energy stationary storage (BESS) applications, almost double that of 2024 as assessed by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a leading specialist in battery supply chain research. Combined, the top 10 BESS cell suppliers in 2025 accounted for 90% of cells shipped and all are headquartered in China.

China’s battery exports grew 48% year-on-year in Q1, according to newly released trade data, while they hit a record high in March. It was a notably strong quarter at a time where seasonality typically translates to weaker numbers. According to General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) data, USD value exports of HS8507.60 increased by 55% in Q1 2026, hitting USD$23.95 billion.

New installations of utility-scale storage in Europe more than doubled in the first quarter of 2026 compared to Q1 2025. Over 6.5GWh was installed in the first three months of the year, with over half of that coming online in March. Notably, March saw more capacity installed than the full year of 2023. In 2023 Benchmark tracked 90 utility-scale projects entering operation, compared to 75 in the first quarter of 2026.

Overall lithium ion battery demand increased by 30% year-on-year to over 1.6TWh in 2025, compared to 1.3TWh in 2024, and the largest four manufacturers meeting that demand remained at the top of the rankings. There have been shifts among the next-largest players, however, as increased battery energy stationary storage (BESS) demand and a dip in US electric vehicle (EV) sales growth have affected some South Korean firms in particular.

Total US lithium ion battery demand is expected to reach 182GWh in 2026, with 37% of this coming from the battery energy stationary storage (BESS) market. Yet the US remains heavily dependent on Chinese battery imports for its energy storage needs as a result of China’s continued grip on supply of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, even as new tariffs push Chinese battery imports to their lowest level since 2021.

Average energy storage project duration has risen globally over recent years as markets have moved away from predominantly two-hour systems towards four-hour and longer assets. Early battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments are typically optimised for frequency response and short-term balancing, where shorter duration configurations were sufficient to capture available revenues. 

Inaugural Report Demonstrates Critical Role Energy Storage Plays in Ensuring Grid Reliability and Keeping Energy Prices Down