Global Energy Storage Market to Sustain Robust Growth in 2026 with an Annual Surge of Over 15%
The global shipment volume of energy storage cells is projected to hit 801 GWh in 2026, with the installed capacity of energy storage systems rising to 353 GWh.
Tight cell supply and surging lithium carbonate prices are likely to drive up battery prices.
Emerging markets such as Australia, India, Brazil and South Korea are emerging as new growth drivers for global energy storage deployment.
I. Global Energy Storage Market to Sustain Robust Growth in 2026
Driven by a confluence of factors including tight cell supply, iterative upgrades in battery technology and the continuous expansion of emerging markets, the global energy storage market will maintain a robust growth momentum in 2026, ushering in a reshaping of the industry landscape.
According to forecasts by InfoLink Consulting, a market research institute, the global shipment volume of energy storage cells is expected to reach 801 GWh in 2026, with the integrated shipment volume of energy storage systems projected at 600 GWh and the total global installed capacity hitting 353 GWh. Current energy storage demand continues to outpace production capacity, making the cell segment the core focus of the industrial chain.
The global energy storage cell market has been mired in a persistent shortage since the second half of 2025, a supply-demand imbalance that is expected to persist into 2026. At present, most new cell production capacities are scheduled to be put into operation in the second half of 2026, meaning market supply will remain tight in the first half and only see a slight easing in the second half.
Compared with previous industry expansion cycles, energy storage battery manufacturers are now adopting a more prudent capacity expansion strategy. Lithium battery production requires substantial capital investment, and coupled with the phasing out of subsidy policies, enterprises have become conservative in capital input. Meanwhile, the industry is transitioning from 314 Ah cells to next-generation large-format cells with a capacity of over 500 Ah. The capacity expansion pace of 314 Ah cells has slowed down at this stage, while large-format cells are still in the early stage of research and development.
II. Technological Iteration Advances Steadily in Two Key Sectors
As the market upgrades to large-capacity cells, technological iteration is advancing steadily in both the utility-scale and residential energy storage sectors.
In the utility-scale energy storage sector, cell specifications are shifting from 314 Ah to large formats such as 587 Ah and 588 Ah. The procurement frameworks released by Chinese state-owned enterprises in early 2026 still list 314 Ah cells as the minimum technical requirement, indicating that this specification is still widely used, while the market recognition of large-format cells is also rising steadily.
Leading manufacturers achieved mass production of 587 Ah cells in the second half of 2025, and second-tier suppliers are expected to launch large-scale production of large-capacity cells starting from the second quarter of 2026. InfoLink Consulting estimates that the market share of large-format cells with a capacity of over 500 Ah in the utility-scale energy storage market may approach 15% in 2026.
The residential energy storage market is also experiencing a wave of transition to large-format cells. Prior to 2025, the residential energy storage market was dominated by 100 Ah cells, supplemented by small-format cells such as 50 Ah and 72 Ah. However, the explosive growth in residential energy storage demand in 2025 led to a shortage of 100 Ah cells and a sharp surge in their prices.
At present, the price gap between 100 Ah cells and large-format cells such as 280 Ah and 314 Ah has widened to more than 0.5 CNY per Wh, which has accelerated market acceptance of large-format cells. It is expected that the market penetration rate of large-format cells in the residential energy storage sector will reach around 20% in 2026.
III. Prices Enter a Period of Severe Volatility
Lithium carbonate prices have also entered a period of severe volatility. Driven by the concentrated release of demand, short-term supply disruptions and a rebound in market sentiment, lithium carbonate prices have been on the rise since the fourth quarter of 2025. The spot price once exceeded 180,000 CNY per ton at the beginning of 2026, and although it has retreated somewhat since then, it has remained in a high-level oscillation overall.
The pricing logic of lithium carbonate has also shifted: from being mainly driven by supply and demand fundamentals in the past, it is now increasingly influenced by market expectations and sentiment.
Capacity expansion in the lithium salt industry continues apace, with new production capacities expected to register a year-on-year growth of over 20% in 2026, concentrated primarily in China and Africa. Meanwhile, the market share of recycled lithium resources as raw materials is also rising steadily.
On the demand side, the market remains resilient. Although the growth rate of demand for new energy vehicles may slow slightly, demand for power batteries is expected to remain stable. Driven by both policy support and the rapid development of overseas markets, demand in the energy storage sector continues to expand substantially.
Overall, both supply and demand in the lithium carbonate market will grow in 2026, and the structural surplus that emerged in 2025 is expected to ease. Lithium carbonate prices are projected to fluctuate in the range of 100,000-190,000 CNY per ton for the whole year, with the annual average price likely to fall between 120,000 and 160,000 CNY per ton. Prices may touch the annual low from the end of the second quarter to the third quarter and rebound again in the fourth quarter.
Energy storage cell prices have already surged sharply. Since the fourth quarter of 2025, the sharp increase in market demand has pushed energy storage cells from a surplus to a shortage. Coupled with rising raw material costs that have driven up production expenses, cell costs in January 2026 rose by more than 23% compared with October 2025, and the actual transaction price of mainstream 314 Ah cells also increased by more than 16%.
For the remainder of 2026, the price of mainstream energy storage cells is expected to remain above 0.300 CNY per Wh, with the annual average price rising by more than 15% compared with 2025.
In contrast, the energy storage system integration segment is facing greater pricing pressure. System integrators have to bear the pressure of rising cell costs on the one hand, and face intensified industry competition on the other. Since the fourth quarter of 2025, the bidding price increase of energy storage system integration projects in China has been less than 10%.
With the popularization of large-capacity cells and the implementation of cost reduction for system integration products, the price of energy storage system integration in China is expected to be flat or slightly lower in 2026 compared with 2025. In overseas markets, however, high industry access thresholds coupled with adjustments to export tax rebate policies may support higher energy storage system prices in some regions.
IV. Emerging Markets Become Growth Engines
While China, the United States and Europe remain the core drivers of global energy storage demand, emerging markets are gradually emerging as important engines for industry growth. The share of emerging markets in global energy storage installed capacity is expected to approach 20% in 2026, with four major markets—Australia, India, Brazil and South Korea—attracting significant attention from energy storage manufacturers.
Australia's market is showing particularly strong growth momentum. The country's newly added energy storage installed capacity reached 11.4 GWh in 2025, a staggering 338% increase from 2024, making it the world's third-largest energy storage market after China and the United States. Its installed capacity is expected to rise further to around 13 GWh in 2026.
The growth of Australia's energy storage market is mainly driven by strong policy support: multiple projects under the Capacity Investment Scheme are scheduled to be put into operation in 2026, and a 7.2 billion Australian dollar residential energy storage subsidy program continues to boost market demand. In addition, the accelerated decommissioning of coal-fired power plants is driving the transition of the power system to renewable energy, which has also spawned substantial structural demand for energy storage.
Other emerging markets are also gathering growing development momentum:
The Indian government has introduced policies such as mandatory energy storage configuration requirements and viability gap funding subsidies to support energy storage deployment. Large-scale energy storage bidding projects released by the Solar Energy Corporation of India and NTPC Limited in 2024-2025 have entered the delivery stage, which is expected to drive a substantial increase in India's energy storage installed capacity in 2026.
Brazil is accelerating the construction of its energy storage market framework. A new bill issued in November 2025 officially classified energy storage as an independent power business and introduced relevant tariff and tax incentives. The country plans to hold its first battery energy storage capacity auction in April 2026.
South Korea is also ramping up the layout of utility-scale energy storage projects. It announced the results of the second round of 3.24 GWh energy storage bidding in February 2026, and the cumulative bidding capacity of energy storage in the country over the past two years has reached around 6.5 GWh.
Although energy storage projects in Brazil and South Korea are unlikely to form large-scale installed capacity in 2026 due to project construction cycles, the implementation of relevant policies and the progress of bidding have laid a solid foundation for the future development of their energy storage markets.
The global energy storage industry is currently undergoing a repricing and structural adjustment of the supply chain. Tightening cell supply, rising battery prices, continuous technological upgrades and the accelerated rise of emerging markets have become the core characteristics of industry development. Against this backdrop, manufacturers capable of balancing capacity expansion, technological R&D and international market expansion are expected to gain a competitive edge in the industry's iteration.