China’s Battery Dominance Creates Bottleneck for Global Energy Transition

China controls 95% of the storage battery market, placing it at the centre of a technology increasingly important to the global shift towards renewable electricity.

Battery storage helps power grids accommodate solar and wind generation, holding electricity for use when sunshine or wind is insufficient. Its importance is growing as these variable energy sources take on a larger role in electricity supplies.

China’s industrial strength has helped lower battery costs, making storage more accessible and supporting the integration of renewable power. But that advantage also leaves the energy transition heavily reliant on a single supplier country.

For the United States and Europe, this concentration raises concerns about a new form of dependence as they seek to expand clean energy. The challenge is to secure affordable storage while reducing exposure to a market dominated by China.

Building factories alone may not be enough to overcome that dependence. China’s industrial lead leaves American and European efforts facing a difficult balance between diversifying supply and benefiting from the lower costs that Chinese production has helped deliver.