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However, the power industry remains secondary for battery manufacturers. In 2023, the global capacity of lithium-ion storage devices reached 2,400 gigawatt-hours, of which 90% were in land transportation and only 10% in centralised and isolated power plants, as well as off-grid power generation in private households (as a point of comparison, Luxembourg’s power consumption totaled 6,330 gigawatt-hours in 2023). However, this gap will narrow in the coming years: global investment in the production of storage devices reached $150 billion in 2023, of which one-fourth was invested in the power industry and the remaining three-fourths in electric vehicles.
The boom in energy storage is directly linked to the growing popularity of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles. IRENA estimates that the global increase in the capacity of wind generators and solar panels (excluding solar concentrators) reached 461.5 GW in 2023, of which 63% (292.8 GW) was represented by China. Thus, the annual capacity of wind and solar generators launched last year exceeded the global installed capacity of NPPs (374.3 GW according to IAEA data) for the first time in history. However, despite the rapid development of infrastructure, renewables remain dependent on weather conditions: for instance, the average utilisation rate of wind turbines (33.5%) and solar panels (23.3%) in the United States in 2023 was several times lower compared to combined cycle plants (58.8%). The need to balance the energy system during periods of calm and cloudy weather stimulates the introduction of energy storage devices.
In turn, global sales of new passenger electric vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) grew by 35% in 2023, reaching 13.8 million units, which was 3.6 million units more than a year earlier.
The share of all types of electric vehicles (including electric vans, trucks and buses) in the global sales of all types of vehicles rose from 14% in 2022 to 18% in 2023. This is largely why electric vehicles remain the primary driver of battery use.
The boom in energy storage is creating new opportunities for developing countries that dominate the energy storage production chain. China is the world leader in graphite mining, processing of lithium, cobalt and graphite, as well as production of cathodes, anodes and cells. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer and processor of nickel, whereas DRC is the leading producer of cobalt. Russia continues to focus mainly on nickel mining and processing.
