Published October 27, 2026
By NZero
Energy storage has become one of the fastest-growing parts of the global power system. According to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) latest forecast, global energy storage additions are set to grow 45% year-on-year in gigawatt terms in 2026, marking a new annual record. Growth is also spreading well beyond the two largest markets. China and the United States still lead, but India is projected to add 26 times more battery capacity than it did last year, and Australia is expected to nearly double its annual additions.
For organizations that operate commercial buildings, factories, campuses, or data centers, this shift matters beyond the headlines. Rapid deployment, changing grid conditions, and evolving supply chains are reshaping how businesses think about energy costs, on-site solar, and resilience. This article looks at what the latest numbers show and what they mean for commercial and industrial energy users.
BNEF projects that the world will add 188 gigawatts (GW), or 535 gigawatt-hours (GWh), of energy storage in 2026. About 62% of that capacity will be installed in China, the United States, and Australia. The momentum is expected to continue in the following years:
BNEF identifies three main drivers: rising solar penetration, storage-pairing mandates, and fiscal incentive programs. In China, a policy requiring storage for new renewables was phased out last year, which created uncertainty about business models. Even so, new measures are supporting demand, including a firming requirement for standalone solar and wind projects and a renewed target of 300 GW of storage by 2030.
In the United States, deployment remains strong, supported by preserved tax credits and growing on-site storage demand from data centers. India’s tender-driven additions are set to exceed 6 GW this year, up from a few hundred megawatts last year. In Europe, countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, and Ukraine are joining the UK, Germany, and Italy in gigawatt-scale additions. From 2027, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Chile, and Japan are expected to accelerate, while Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia become key growth regions toward 2036.
Storage paired with renewables, especially solar, is gaining ground worldwide. By the end of 2025, as much as 69 GW / 196 GWh of energy storage had been paired with 299 GW of solar capacity. Rising solar curtailment and price cannibalization in markets such as the United States, Australia, and Chile continue to push developers toward co-location. Price cannibalization occurs when large amounts of solar generate at the same time, pushing down midday power prices and reducing the value of each additional megawatt-hour. Batteries shift that energy into evening hours, when prices and demand are higher. Although China’s co-location mandate has expired, nine other countries, including India, Mexico, and the Philippines, have introduced regulatory or auction-linked requirements.
The same logic applies at the facility level. A commercial building or factory with rooftop solar can store midday output and use it during late-afternoon peaks, helping reduce demand charges and reliance on grid power during high-price periods.
On technology, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) is expected to remain the primary chemistry for energy storage over the next decade, thanks to its cost competitiveness, long cycle life, and established supply chain. Sodium-ion batteries are attracting more interest as LFP material prices have risen. They carry a lower fire risk and can operate across a wide temperature range, which reduces the need for liquid cooling and auxiliary energy use. However, limited manufacturing scale and cost competitiveness remain barriers to wider adoption, for sodium-ion as well as for other non-lithium long-duration storage technologies.
Battery storage supply chains are being reshaped by policy. Several markets are reviewing supply chains more closely and requiring greater localization, which makes market entry more complex for Chinese equipment suppliers. The United States has gone furthest, combining tariffs and incentives for domestic battery production with restrictions on equipment that relies on supply chains involving China. In the European Union and Japan, concerns about cybersecurity and supply chain security are shaping policy in a similar direction. South Korea, India, and Brazil also have local-content or trade measures in place, though BNEF notes these are less stringent than those in the United States.
Supporters of these policies point to energy security and domestic manufacturing, while others raise concerns about higher equipment costs and slower deployment. In response, Chinese suppliers are expanding into markets with fewer restrictions, such as the Middle East, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
For commercial and industrial buyers, these shifts translate into practical questions during procurement:
Energy storage is moving from a niche technology to a core part of power systems around the world. With record additions of 188 GW expected in 2026, more than 200 GW in 2027, and a tenfold increase in cumulative capacity by 2036, batteries are becoming a standard tool for balancing solar output, managing grid constraints, and supporting new demand such as data centers.
For commercial and industrial energy users, the key question is no longer whether storage technology is mature. It is whether storage fits a specific site. The answer depends on factors such as load profiles, peak demand patterns, utility tariff structures, on-site solar, and available incentives. Supply chain rules and battery chemistry choices add further variables to the decision.
Organizations that understand their own energy data will be best placed to judge where storage delivers real value and where other measures may offer a better return. As global deployment accelerates, careful, data-driven evaluation will help businesses turn a fast-growing market into measurable savings and greater resilience.
