The 2020s have been dubbed the decade of energy storage, and 2024 confirmed this to be true. Battery energy storage CAPEX surged to $65.6 billion, up from $48.9 billion in 2023. This was achieved despite a reduction in battery pack costs in 2024 that meant project costs declined by around 10% across all geographies. The ongoing clean energy transition, driving intermittent wind and solar capacity and the retirement of fossil-fuel-based generation plants, requires critical services to balance the electricity system. BESS has emerged as the most effective solution for this purpose. Market revenues are forecast to more than quadruple to reach just under $300 billion by 2035, scaling from a global annual capacity of 67.0 GW/165.6 GWh to reach 277.3 GW/1,100.0 GWh at the end of the decade. Non-battery storage investment levels are lower, but they represent a significant growth opportunity, particularly to enable longer duration energy storage and the electrification of industrial heat.

Author: Jonathan Robinson