US-made battery energy storage system (BESS) DC container solutions will become cost-competitive with those from China in 2025 thanks to incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Clean Energy Associates said.

Only half of the energy storage needed to properly integrate the potential solar PV additions globally by 2030 will be deployed based on current policies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its World Energy Outlook report for 2023.

Fastmarkets analysts Muthu Krishna and Phoebe O’Hara look at the potential of solid-state and sodium-ion batteries to scale up and ease the pressure on lithium-ion NMC and LFP battery chemistries, which currently dominate the EV and ESS markets.

China-headquartered lithium-ion battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech has announced a new US$2 billion gigafactory in Illinois, US, targeting the EV and energy storage system (ESS) markets.

The lithium industry needs US$116 billion of investment to achieve the 5.7x ramp-up in production needed for 2030 decarbonisation goals, and prices may remain ‘tight’ in the coming years.

Corporate funding into battery storage companies rebounded in Q2, but remains lower than in 2022 or 2021 so far.

FREYR Battery, which is targeting the battery storage sector with its product line, has received a €100 million (US$112.29 million) grant commitment.

Metals group BASF has begun commissioning on what it claimed is the first combined battery cathode materials production and recycling plant, in Germany.

Lithium carbonate prices have started to creep back up again after coming down from 2022’s extreme highs, but the long-term outlook is one of downwards prices, research firm Fastmarkets said.

BESS projects in the US need to be 40% US-made to qualify for the ITC domestic content adder, rising to 55% from 2027 onwards, the IRS has said.