Battery Energy Storage: Deployment, Costs and the 2030 Outlook

The IEA's 2024 special report 'Batteries and Secure Energy Transitions' found that power-sector battery storage was the fastest-growing commercially available energy technology in 2023, with deployment more than doubling year-on-year [1]. Utility-scale projects, behind-the-meter batteries, mini-grids and solar home systems added a total of 42 GW of battery storage worldwide [1]. The energy sector now accounts for over 90% of overall battery demand [4].

Over 40 GW of battery storage was added in 2023, double the previous year's increase [2]. Utility-scale projects made up 65% of it and behind-the-meter systems 35% [2].

Total battery use in the energy sector was over 2,400 GWh in 2023, four times the 2020 level [2]. In the past five years, over 2,000 GWh of lithium-ion capacity has been added worldwide [2]. EVs accounted for over 90% of energy-sector battery use, with annual volumes reaching a record of more than 750 GWh in 2023 [2]. EV battery deployment grew 40% in 2023, with 14 million new electric cars sold [1].

Lithium-ion battery prices fell from USD 1,400 per kWh in 2010 to less than USD 140 per kWh in 2023, a 90% cost reduction [1]. The IEA calls this one of the fastest cost declines of any energy technology. It credits research and development and economies of scale in manufacturing [1]. In the Stated Policies Scenario, innovation cuts the total capital cost of power-sector battery storage by up to 40% by 2030 [3].

To support the tripling of renewables agreed at COP28, the IEA says global energy storage capacity must increase sixfold to 1,500 GW by 2030 [3]. In the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario, batteries provide 90% of that increase, rising 14-fold to 1,200 GW by 2030 [3]. This covers both utility-scale and behind-the-meter storage. Other options include pumped hydro, compressed air, flywheels and thermal storage [3].

All figures come from the IEA's 'Batteries and Secure Energy Transitions' report (2024): its executive summary, its chapters on the status and outlook of battery demand and supply, and the IEA press release that launched it. GW measures power capacity of stationary storage. GWh measures battery energy volume across EVs and stationary uses.

The 2030 figures are scenario requirements (NZE) or scenario projections (Stated Policies), not forecasts of what will happen. BNEF data was not used because it is not openly available. This report includes no FREEE.REPORT calculations.