Storage is growing faster than solar or wind ever did
In 2025, humanity crossed a quiet but consequential threshold: for the first time, the world installed more than 100 gigawatts of energy storage in a single year, reaching 112 gigawatts in a growth arc that outpaced even the celebrated rises of solar and wind. Led by China and spreading to unexpected corners like Australia and Saudi Arabia, this expansion reflects a civilizational shift — from a grid built to generate power, to one increasingly designed to hold it. The milestone arrives not as a conclusion but as an opening, as new chemistries challenge lithium's dominance and the infrastructure of a renewable world begins to take its mature shape.
- Energy storage grew 48% in a single year, crossing 100 gigawatts annually faster than any prior energy technology has scaled at comparable stages.
- China controls 54% of the global market, and its battery manufacturers are now planting flags in the Middle East, reshaping the geopolitical map of clean energy supply.
- Lithium-ion's 90% market grip is beginning to loosen as sodium-ion batteries attract major supply agreements and long-duration storage is set to quadruple in 2026.
- Geopolitical instability — from Middle Eastern conflict to elevated oil prices — cuts both ways, potentially accelerating household adoption while raising manufacturing and shipping costs.
- The solar-to-storage ratio has collapsed from 56-to-1 a decade ago to an expected 4-to-1 this year, signaling that the grid is transitioning from generation-first to a capture-and-hold architecture.
- With projections pointing to 300 gigawatts annually by 2036, storage is on a path to become as foundational to the modern grid as power generation itself.
The world added 112 gigawatts of battery storage in 2025 — nearly half again as much as the year before — crossing the 100-gigawatt annual threshold for the first time. What makes the milestone striking is its speed: the industry scaled from 10 gigawatts to this level in just four years, a pace that left both solar and wind far behind at comparable stages of their development.
China anchored the expansion, claiming 54% of all new storage deployed globally, with the United States a distant second at 16%. Yet the story reached further. Australia's additions climbed nearly sixfold, propelled by favorable market conditions and new residential subsidies. Saudi Arabia emerged as an unexpected frontier as Chinese battery suppliers moved to establish a presence in the Middle East.
The relationship between storage and solar is itself transforming. A decade ago, 56 megawatts of solar panels were installed for every megawatt of batteries. By 2025 that ratio had fallen to 6-to-1, and this year it is expected to narrow to 4-to-1 — a convergence that signals a grid increasingly built to hold renewable energy, not merely produce it.
Lithium-ion, and specifically the lithium iron phosphate variant, still commands over 90% of the market. But challengers are gaining ground. Long-duration storage systems are set to quadruple in 2026, with most of that growth coming from non-lithium technologies. Sodium-ion batteries are the most prominent alternative: currently more expensive due to limited scale, but backed by rapidly expanding production and abundant raw materials. CATL, the world's largest battery maker, signed a three-year, 60-gigawatt-hour sodium supply agreement in April; an American firm committed to delivering sodium systems to a major storage developer through 2030.
The geopolitical environment adds complexity. Ongoing Middle Eastern conflict has not yet disrupted supply chains — China's manufacturing dominance provides a buffer — but elevated oil prices carry indirect effects, potentially widening peak-to-off-peak electricity price spreads and making batteries more economically attractive, even as shipping and project costs rise.
By 2036, annual additions are projected to surpass 300 gigawatts, driven by falling costs, renewable integration mandates, and new demand from data centers and electric vehicle infrastructure. The 100-gigawatt crossing is less a finish line than a threshold — the moment energy storage began its transition from supporting actor to structural foundation of the modern grid.
The world added more energy storage capacity in 2025 than ever before. Across the globe, 112 gigawatts of battery storage came online that year—a jump of nearly half from the previous twelve months—representing 307 gigawatt-hours of new installations. For the first time, annual energy storage additions crossed the 100-gigawatt threshold, a milestone that arrives with remarkable speed. It took the industry just four years to scale from 10 gigawatts to this level, a trajectory that makes both solar and wind look sluggish by comparison. Solar needed eight years to reach comparable growth rates; wind took fifteen.
China remains the undisputed center of gravity for this expansion, accounting for 54 percent of all new storage deployed last year. The United States followed at 16 percent. But the story extends beyond these two giants. Australia saw its storage additions climb nearly sixfold, buoyed by favorable electricity market conditions and a new subsidy program aimed at residential systems. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, emerged as an unexpected player as Chinese battery suppliers began establishing footholds in the Middle Eastern market.
The relationship between energy storage and solar power is shifting in real time. A decade ago, the ratio was stark: for every megawatt of batteries added, the world installed 56 megawatts of solar panels. By 2025, that gap had narrowed dramatically to 6-to-1. This year, the ratio is expected to tighten further to 4-to-1 as storage installations accelerate while solar growth moderates. The convergence matters because it signals a maturing grid—one increasingly designed to capture and hold renewable energy rather than simply generate it.
Lithium-ion chemistry, particularly the lithium iron phosphate variant, has dominated the storage market with over 90 percent of 2025 additions. But this dominance is beginning to crack. Long-duration storage systems—batteries designed to hold power for six hours or longer—are poised to quadruple in 2026 to two gigawatts of annual capacity, and most of that growth will come from non-lithium technologies, concentrated primarily in China. Policy mandates and government procurement programs in other regions are also pushing the industry toward alternatives.
Sodium-ion batteries represent the most visible challenger to lithium's reign. The chemistry is currently more expensive than lithium-ion due to limited manufacturing scale, but sodium's abundance in the earth's crust and the rapid expansion of production capacity could reverse that equation within years. In April, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., the world's largest battery maker, signed a three-year agreement with Beijing HyperStrong Technology to supply 60 gigawatt-hours of sodium batteries. Across the Pacific, the American firm Peak Energy committed to delivering roughly 5 gigawatt-hours of sodium systems to Jupiter Power between 2027 and 2030.
The geopolitical backdrop remains uncertain. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has not yet significantly disrupted energy storage supply chains, largely because China's dominance in battery manufacturing insulates the sector from direct regional shocks. Yet higher oil prices carry indirect consequences. Rising fuel costs can improve the economics of storage in competitive power markets by widening the gap between peak and off-peak electricity prices, making batteries more valuable. If the conflict sustains elevated energy prices, households and businesses may accelerate their adoption of rooftop solar paired with battery systems—a pattern Europe witnessed after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Conversely, shipping and manufacturing costs could climb, raising project expenses across the board.
Looking ahead, the industry expects annual storage additions to exceed 300 gigawatts by 2036. Falling battery costs, deeper penetration of renewables on grids worldwide, regulatory mandates requiring co-location of storage with solar farms, competitive auctions, and emerging applications—data centers hungry for reliable power, electric vehicle charging networks—will all drive this growth. The 100-gigawatt milestone marks not the end of a story but the beginning of a new chapter, one in which energy storage becomes as foundational to the grid as generation itself.
Citações Notáveis
Energy storage additions are approaching solar capacity in gigawatt terms, with the ratio narrowing from 56 megawatts of solar per 1 megawatt of batteries in 2016 to 6-to-1 in 2025.— BloombergNEF analysis
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. and Beijing HyperStrong Technology signed a three-year partnership for 60 gigawatt-hours of sodium batteries, signaling major suppliers' commitment to non-lithium alternatives.— Industry supply agreements
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter that energy storage hit 100 gigawatts in a single year? That's a number most people won't grasp.
It matters because it shows the grid is fundamentally changing. Storage used to be a niche technology. Now it's growing faster than solar or wind ever did. That speed tells you something real is shifting in how we think about power.
You mentioned the ratio between solar and storage narrowing from 56-to-1 to 4-to-1. What does that actually mean on the ground?
It means we're finally building grids that can hold onto the energy we generate. For years, we added solar panels but had nowhere to put the power they made at night. Now we're adding batteries at a pace that makes that problem smaller every year.
China dominates with 54 percent of the market. Is that a problem for the rest of the world?
It's complicated. China's dominance in manufacturing keeps costs down globally, which benefits everyone. But it also means supply chains are concentrated. The good news is that sodium-ion batteries, which are just emerging, could diversify that. They don't require the same rare materials lithium does.
You mentioned the Middle East conflict hasn't disrupted storage yet. Why not?
Because battery supply chains run through China, not the Middle East. But higher oil prices could still matter—they make storage more valuable in some markets and more expensive to build in others. It's a mixed picture.
What's the real significance of sodium-ion batteries starting to gain share?
It's the end of lithium's monopoly. Sodium is everywhere. Once manufacturing scales up, it could be cheaper and more sustainable. We're seeing major suppliers like CATL already committing to multi-year supply deals. That's not speculation—that's the market moving.
By 2036, you're saying storage additions could hit 300 gigawatts annually. Is that realistic?
The trajectory suggests it is. We went from 10 to 112 gigawatts in four years. Costs keep falling, mandates are tightening, and new uses like data centers are opening up. If anything, 300 might be conservative.