Global Lithium Batteries

Report Overview

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This report includes data from 2011-2031 in 5 year intervals and tables featuring year-by-year data for 2018-2025.

This Freedonia industry study analyzes the $52 billion lithium battery industry. It presents  historical demand data (2011, 2016, and 2021) and forecasts (2026 and 2031) by product (primary lithium batteries, secondary lithium batteries), market (automotive, consumer, industrial and other), and region (North America, Central and South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia/Pacific, Africa/Mideast). The study discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also evaluates company market share and competitive analysis on industry competitors including CATL, LG Energy Solution, Panasonic, Samsung SDI, and TDK. 

This report includes data from 2011-2031 in 5 year intervals and tables featuring year-by-year data for 2018-2025.

Global demand for lithium batteries is forecast to increase 17% per year to $119 billion in 2026, driven by the:

• development of the hybrid and electric vehicle (HEV) industry, as these vehicles increasingly penetrate the motor vehicle market
• proliferation of battery-powered options in products that historically used corded electric or gas powered technology

ICE Vehicle Phase Out Targets to Accelerate HEV Adoption

As part of their climate policies, governments in many higher-income nations have set targets for the full or partial phase out of new ICE car sales. The most important of these policies is an EU-wide regulation, adopted in June 2022, that will ban the sale of new ICE cars in member nations by 2035.

This policy will fuel rapid growth in battery demand throughout Europe, as countries in the region are expected to quickly transition their existing automotive plants to make EVs. Most of the nations that had previously adopted their own deadlines for phasing out ICE vehicles are in Western Europe, where many wealthy countries have already achieved significant EV penetration. Member states in Eastern Europe have less developed EV markets and are expected to face greater challenges, but they have the potential for very fast growth; several are also well-situated to become important manufacturers of lower-cost EVs, which will likely be an important contributor to meeting targets.

Among the other nations with important EV adoption targets are the US, China, Japan, and South Korea. China is the world’s largest EV producer, and it is expected to continue growing in importance. Meanwhile the US, Japan, and South Korea all have the financial resources to rapidly step up EV adoption.

Battery Power Continuing to Proliferate in Consumer Goods

Lithium-ion battery technology is continuing to gain market share in a wide variety of products as an alternative to gas-powered or corded electric designs. For example, batteries are increasingly common in power tools and power lawn and garden equipment. While battery power has already gained a significant foothold in handheld consumer models, the improving cost and performance profile of battery power is allowing for increased penetration in models used by professionals. As a result, growth in battery sales in these markets is expected to continue outpacing growth in the underlying markets.

Competition From Alternative Technologies to Increase

While lithium-ion batteries currently represent the dominant technology in most of their key growth applications, concerns about cost and lithium supply are driving battery firms to invest in alternative chemistries. Most notably, CATL intends to deploy sodium-ion batteries for the EV market by the end of 2023. This technology holds significant cost advantages over lithium-ion and could pose a serious competitive threat if its performance disadvantages can be managed. Flow batteries – a technology that shares characteristics with both fuel cells and conventional batteries – could also become a source of competition in the energy storage market.

Reginal Trends

Demand by Region

Global demand for lithium batteries is forecast to increase 17% per year to $119 billion in 2026. Growth will be fueled by rapid advances in the HEV market and increased electronic product manufacturing.

The Asia/Pacific region will represent the largest share of gains, accounting for 58% of global demand growth between 2021 and 2026. Sales will be supported by manufacturing industries in China, Japan, and South Korea, all of which are leading producers of HEVs and electronic products.

The fastest growth will occur in Europe, as motor vehicle industries in the region will rapidly transition to making electric vehicles as EU targets for the phase out of ICE cars approach. These EU-wide policies will drive large gains in high-income West European nations and even faster growth in less-developed East European nations that participate in the organization.

North America will continue to be a smaller market than Western Europe due to lesser adoption of electric vehicles, although rapid growth is still expected through 2026. The Africa/Mideast region and Central and South America will remain relatively minor markets due to the lack of advanced manufacturing industries in these regions.

Products Overview

Global demand for lithium batteries is projected to rise 17% per year to $119 billion in 2026. Secondary lithium batteries represent the vast majority of demand and will post faster growth, accounting for 98% of global sales gains between 2021 and 2026. Growth for these products will be driven by:

• rising penetration of hybrid and electric vehicles
• increased electronic product manufacturing
• displacement of gas-powered technology by batteries in a wide variety of other applications, such as power tools and power lawn and garden equipment

Growth for primary lithium batteries will be slower, reflecting the relative maturity of the consumer applications that these products are typically used in. However, rising income levels will support growth by allowing for increased use of higher-performance primary lithium batteries in place of alkaline and zinc-carbon models.

Pricing Trends

Price trends for secondary lithium-based batteries are far more dynamic than those for primary lithium batteries. The secondary battery market includes a number of relatively new technologies, and high levels of R&D investment are contributing to rapid production cost decreases.

Price reductions for lithium-ion batteries used in industrial applications are expected to be similar to those for automotive batteries, as industrial products tend to have similarly demanding performance needs. Prices for smaller lithium-ion batteries used in consumer devices will also continue to decline, although at relatively moderate rates.

Materials supply considerations – for cobalt, nickel, and lithium – could pose a barrier to further lithium-ion battery price reductions as global demand booms. Prices of lithium-ion batteries fell less than expected in 2021, and then increased in 2022; however, the trend of rapid price reductions is expected to resume. Battery manufacturers and EV producers are addressing risks associated with cobalt and nickel by investing in designs that exclude these materials. Concerns about actual raw material availability are less severe for lithium, but ramping up production at a sufficiently fast rate is likely to be challenging.