Global Batteries Report

Report Overview

Emerging Applications Fueling Rapid Battery Demand Growth

Key Themes Covered in this Report:

• Ongoing development and regulatory conditions in the EV market
• Emergence of the energy storage market as a major growth driver
• Continued improvements in battery technology and new chemistry development

Key Questions Answered in the Report:

• How is slower-than-expected growth in 2024 and 2025 impacting EV market forecasts?
• Where is new battery manufacturing capacity being successfully deployed?
• How is the evolving regulatory climate affecting battery market development?

Featuring 171 Tables & 92 Figures!

Global demand for batteries is forecast to increase 9.3% per year to $328 billion in 2029. Growth will be fueled by rapid expansion in the use of secondary batteries – particularly lithium-ion products – in emerging market segments like electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems (BESS).

Regulatory Support Continues to Fuel Growth in HEV Markets

The automotive market is forecast to be the largest driver of battery demand growth through 2029, with EV applications expected to achieve particularly rapid gains. Advances in this market will be supported by government policies incentivizing sales of HEVs in the short term and phasing out sales of new ICE vehicles in the long term.

The most ambitious targets maintained by major regulatory regimes have aimed to ban the sales of new ICE cars in 2035, as seen in China, the EU, and parts of the US. These targets have been increasingly called into question in 2024 and 2025, following slowdowns in EV adoption in the EU and, to a lesser extent, the US. While there is some possibility that targets for 2035 will not be met, regulations will continue to support the adoption of HEVs featuring high-value batteries.

Ongoing Technological Development as Lithium-Ion Batteries Dominate Growth

Lithium-ion batteries overtook lead-acid products between 2019 and 2024 to become the largest segment of the global battery industry, and these products will account for by far the largest share of global demand gains through 2029. Within the lithium-ion batteries market, competition between chemistries continues to increase:

• Ternary lithium batteries (including NMC and NCA types) remain the largest segment globally, reflecting their superior energy density.
• LFP batteries have significantly increased their market share in the 2020s. These products dominate the Chinese EV market and are expected to continue gaining ground globally.

In addition, battery manufacturers are investing in alternative battery chemistries, most notably sodium-ion. China’s CATL is expected to launch mass production of sodium-ion batteries by the end of 2025, likely positioning these products as a competitor to LFP batteries in more cost-sensitive segments.

Battery Manufacturing Expansion Facing Significant Volatility

The global battery industry will continue to see massive investment in capacity expansion in anticipation of ongoing rapid demand growth. However, development of new manufacturing capacity has been highly uncertain, with numerous projects canceled worldwide in 2024 and 2025 amid a period of short-term global overcapacity.

China continues to lead global production, and competition from lower-cost Chinese imports has been a major barrier to development of production elsewhere. Despite challenges, it is expected that lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity will continue to increase rapidly worldwide. In North America and Western Europe,  government support will promote new projects in the place of canceled developments, with geopolitical concerns driving efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese imports.

Global Batteries Report Details

Leading Companies Driving Trends in the Global Batteries Industry

Global Batteries Markets Overview

Batteries are sold mostly to two major markets:

• automotive, which consists entirely of secondary batteries, includes batteries used in starting/lighting/ignition applications, as well as batteries employed in HEVs
• consumer, which includes both replacement and OEM sales for batteries used in a wide variety of consumer devices (such as mobile phones, computers, power lawn and garden equipment, and power tools)

However, there are also a number of other significant and growing markets for batteries – motive power equipment, other transportation equipment, energy storage (including both utility and small-scale operations from all sources), backup power, medical products, military and defense equipment, and telecommunications systems.

Global demand for batteries is forecast to rise 9.3% per year to $328 billion in 2029:

• The automotive market will advance at the fastest rate, fueled by increased use of lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicles segment. Growth will be concentrated in the OEM segment, reflecting high up-front costs and low replacement rates for EV batteries.
• Demand for batteries in the consumer market will grow at a slower pace, but will still post healthy gains as battery power increasingly displaces other power sources in applications such as power tools and power lawn and garden equipment.
• Growth in the use of electric bicycles and electric motorcycles will support demand in the motive power and other transportation equipment markets.
• The energy storage market has emerged as a significant growth driver following the beginnings of large-scale commercialization in the early 2020s. Growth in this segment will be driven by the important role of battery energy storage as a complement to renewable energy systems.

Global Batteries Report Scope

This study covers the global battery industry. Demand by product and market are presented in US dollars.

For each country, product demand is presented for:

• primary alkaline batteries
• primary zinc-carbon batteries
• primary lithium batteries
• other primary batteries, including zinc-air, silver-oxide, nickel oxyhydroxide, and all other primary batteries
• secondary lead-acid batteries
• secondary lithium-ion batteries
• secondary nickel-based batteries
• other secondary batteries, such as sodium-nickel chloride, rechargeable alkaline, zinc-air, nickel-hydrogen, sodium-sulfur, silver-zinc, nickel-air, lithium-sulfur, aluminum-air, and zinc bromine

Excluded from the study are battery chargers, booster cables (jumper cables), and other ancillary equipment used with batteries.

Totals for primary and secondary battery demand in each country are segmented into:

• automotive OEM (including for conventional and hybrid/electric vehicles)
• automotive aftermarket (including for conventional and hybrid/electric vehicles)
• consumer OEM
• consumer replacement
• other markets:
  • motive power (including electric bicycles, industrial vehicles, personal mobility vehicles, and recreational vehicles)
  • transportation equipment (including motorcycles, aircraft, marine equipment, and railway equipment)
  • other applications, energy storage, defense-related applications, backup power systems, and other miscellaneous applications

Production data for each country are presented for primary batteries and secondary batteries.