US Gains Momentum in Competition with China for Dominance in Long-Lasting Battery Technology

US and European Companies Gain Ground in Clean Technology Competition with China

The demand for long-lasting energy storage is accelerating, offering a rare opportunity for US and European clean technology companies to compete with China's globally dominant battery sector. Installations of long-duration systems, an umbrella term for super-batteries that can store and deliver electricity for many hours or even days, are surging as the world looks to better harness renewable energy.

According to BloombergNEF, deployments of long-duration systems are forecast to almost quadruple this year after a record 2025. China has built a commanding lead in lithium-ion batteries, which generally hold up to four hours of discharge and can delay the use of daytime solar power until the evening demand peak. Storage over far longer time periods, however, has greater potential for competition as it encompasses a wider range of technologies.

Long-Duration Storage Technologies

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Options for long-duration storage include batteries using a more eclectic mix of metals, or systems that can store energy in hot bricks, tap the potential of gravity, or compress air into caverns. These technologies offer a chance for US and European companies to compete with China's dominance in the battery sector.

The US is the second-largest market for long-duration storage capacity, accounting for about 28% of cumulative capacity, including almost all installations last year. The country is expected to ramp up deployments later this decade, as are nations including Germany, India, and Japan. The US has the most diversified type of technology in development, according to BNEF analyst Yiyi Zhou.

Comparison of Long-Duration Storage Markets

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The boom in data center construction adds fresh demand for reliable power in the US, accelerating installations further. Chinese companies, however, have less potential to become major exporters and capture market share overseas due to their focus on a narrower set of technologies.

Government Support and Policy Encouragement

The UK and Italy are among nations already setting policies to encourage deployments of long-duration storage. Developing viable and cost-effective methods for 10 to 100 hours or more of storage "should be a priority for governments anticipating future high shares of variable renewable electricity supplies" or weather-related disruptions to hydropower, the International Energy Agency said in a February report.

Long-duration storage technology is "one of the critical missing pieces for deeply decarbonized power systems," according to global electricity analyst Kostantsa Rangelova at climate think tank Ember. Soaring US demand for electricity and a shortage of natural gas turbines also "opens up a door" for long-duration storage that can complement renewables, said Gabriel Kra, co-founder of Prelude Ventures, a venture capital firm that has invested in Form Energy Inc.

Form Energy, which deploys iron-air battery technology that can feed electricity to power grids for 100 hours, has completed agreements with a data center developer and Xcel Energy Inc. for a Google site in Minnesota. California is set to host one of the world's largest compressed air energy projects, which works by squeezing air into tanks or natural caverns and releasing it through a turbine to generate electricity.