From electric vehicles to the power grid! The U.S. battery industry is now capable of independently meeting domestic grid storage needs.

Ask AI · How can policy support enable the United States to be self-sufficient in energy storage batteries?

Caixin Global, March 24 (Edited by Malan) Amid the impact of high oil prices, global stock markets have generally been weak over the past week, but the energy storage sector has stood out. The core logic is that energy storage is gradually becoming a cornerstone industry for the global energy transition.

According to the latest data from the U.S. industry organization—the U.S. Energy Storage Alliance— the United States will have, for the first time, the ability to independently produce enough grid energy storage batteries and meet demand that has surged due to artificial intelligence.

The organization said the United States currently has sufficient capacity to meet the market demand for grid energy storage batteries, including the integration of components such as battery cells, power electronics equipment, control systems, and safety devices. It also encapsulates these components in weather-resistant steel enclosures that can be installed directly. In addition, by the end of this year, the United States will also achieve self-sufficiency in the battery cells themselves.

U.S. Energy Storage Alliance Executive Director Noa Roberts said the United States now has the capability to meet 100% of U.S. energy storage project demand with systems manufactured in the United States—completely different from the situation a year and a half ago, when most energy storage batteries depended on imports.

Capacity growth accelerates significantly

According to a survey by the U.S. Energy Storage Alliance, as of the end of 2025, U.S. factories have an annual production capacity of 70 gigawatt-hours of finished grid energy storage systems. It is expected that by the end of this year, annual capacity will rise to 145 gigawatt-hours. Of that, about 60 gigawatt-hours of energy storage systems will be installed in the next two years, which also means that energy storage batteries in the United States are effectively facing capacity oversupply.

This is related to U.S. policy support for the new energy industry under the prior Biden administration. By the end of 2024, U.S. production capacity for battery cells used for the grid was basically zero. But due to the Inflation Reduction Act, manufacturers producing batteries for electric vehicles received federal government financial subsidies.

Ironically, after the Trump administration took office, the U.S. electric vehicle industry entered a performance slump. This, however, pushed electric vehicle battery producers to look for a path to supply energy storage systems for the grid.

Earlier this month, Korean battery producer LG announced that it would retrofit an electric vehicle battery factory in Tennessee together with partner General Motors, shifting to producing grid batteries. LG is also retrofitting a plant in Michigan, and under a supply agreement worth $4.3 billion, it will sell these energy storage batteries to Tesla.

In recent years, other companies with battery manufacturing operations in the United States have also made direct investments in grid energy storage products, such as Tesla, Samsung SDI, and SK On.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy also announced this month that it would provide $500 million in funding to support the domestic U.S. battery industry. Pete Williams, Chief Supply Chain and Product Officer at large grid energy storage supplier Fluence, said data center customers demand massive power supply, and the U.S. supply chain can shorten the time needed to add energy storage facilities to the grid.

(Caixin Global, Malan)