From ESS News
Around 315 GWh was installed across both grid-scale and behind-the-meter battery energy storage system (BESS) markets, representing nearly 50% year-on-year growth, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Geographically, China and the US led deployments, with China far outpacing all other markets. The world’s largest BESS market installed more battery capacity in December alone than the US – the second-largest market – deployed over the entire year. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Chile moved into third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively, displacing the UK and Italy from 2024’s top five markets.
Grid-scale projects were the primary driver of growth, accounting for nearly 240 GWh of global installations. Project sizes continued to increase, with 46 giga-scale projects entering operation in 2025, up from 17 in 2024. Looking ahead, more than 150 giga-scale projects are currently in the pipeline for 2026.
“2026 is set for another strong year for BESS, with our current forecast for new operational capacity at over 450GWh, compared to 315GWh in 2025”, Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told ESS News. “There should be no material supply constrain here, with cell production for BESS cells outpacing this growth over the last year, and capacity set to expand further this year.”
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