Energy

Trends and Advances in Renewable Energy

Published

8 years ago

November 6, 2014

Jeff Desjardins

evolution-of-renewable-energy-redlogo-compressed

Trends and Advances in Renewable Energy

When it comes to renewable energy, something has got to give.

Green energy has a somewhat dated reputation for not being feasible from an economic perspective. However, it seems with green tech that the inputs slowly, yet incrementally, get better. Every additional percent of efficiency and each reduction in costs takes us a small step further towards a greener future.

As the infographic shows, there are many interesting developments in the green sector that are piquing the interest of investors. Advancements in organic solar cells, energy storage, concentrated solar energy, and wind turbine materials are just some of those worth noting.

The sector is all about cost and more specifically, capital costs. Although much of the time the fuel is free, the short to medium term investment case continues to be the biggest hurdle with payback periods being far too long. People watching the renewable sector are still waiting for one of these game changing technologies to be commercialized to make the investment case that much more certain.

Original graphic from: NJIT

Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing (2022-2027P)

This infographic breaks down battery manufacturing capacity by country in 2022 and 2027.

Published

1 week ago

January 19, 2023

Govind Bhutada

battery manufacturing capacity by country infographic

Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.

With the world gearing up for the electric vehicle era, battery manufacturing has become a priority for many nations, including the United States.

However, having entered the race for batteries early, China is far and away in the lead.

Using the data and projections behind BloombergNEF’s lithium-ion supply chain rankings, this infographic visualizes battery manufacturing capacity by country in 2022 and 2027p, highlighting the extent of China’s battery dominance.

Battery Manufacturing Capacity by Country in 2022

In 2022, China had more battery production capacity than the rest of the world combined.

Rank	Country	2022 Battery Cell Manufacturing Capacity, GWh	% of Total
#1	🇨🇳 China	893	77%
#2	🇵🇱 Poland	73	6%
#3	🇺🇸 U.S.	70	6%
#4	🇭🇺 Hungary	38	3%
#5	🇩🇪 Germany	31	3%
#6	🇸🇪 Sweden	16	1%
#7	🇰🇷 South Korea	15	1%
#8	🇯🇵 Japan	12	1%
#9	🇫🇷 France	6	1%
#10	🇮🇳 India	3	0.2%
	🌍 Other	7	1%
	Total	1,163	100%

With nearly 900 gigawatt-hours of manufacturing capacity or 77% of the global total, China is home to six of the world’s 10 biggest battery makers. Behind China’s battery dominance is its vertical integration across the rest of the EV supply chain, from mining the metals to producing the EVs. It’s also the largest EV market, accounting for 52% of global sales in 2021.

Poland ranks second with less than one-tenth of China’s capacity. In addition, it hosts LG Energy Solution’s Wroclaw gigafactory, the largest of its kind in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Overall, European countries (including non-EU members) made up just 14% of global battery manufacturing capacity in 2022.

Although it lives in China’s shadow when it comes to batteries, the U.S. is also among the world’s lithium-ion powerhouses. As of 2022, it had eight major operational battery factories, concentrated in the Midwest and the South.

China’s Near-Monopoly Continues Through 2027

Global lithium-ion manufacturing capacity is projected to increase eightfold in the next five years. Here are the top 10 countries by projected battery production capacity in 2027:

Rank	Country	2027P Battery Cell Manufacturing Capacity, GWh	% of Total
#1	🇨🇳 China	6,197	69%
#2	🇺🇸 U.S.	908	10%
#3	🇩🇪 Germany	503	6%
#4	🇭🇺 Hungary	194	2%
#5	🇸🇪 Sweden	135	2%
#6	🇵🇱 Poland	112	1%
#7	🇨🇦 Canada	106	1%
#8	🇪🇸 Spain	98	1%
#9	🇫🇷 France	89	1%
#10	🇲🇽 Mexico	80	1%
	🌍 Other	523	6%
	Total	8,945	100%

China’s well-established advantage is set to continue through 2027, with 69% of the world’s battery manufacturing capacity.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is projected to increase its capacity by more than 10-fold in the next five years. EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are likely to incentivize battery manufacturing by rewarding EVs made with domestic materials. Alongside Ford and General Motors, Asian companies including Toyota, SK Innovation, and LG Energy Solution have all announced investments in U.S. battery manufacturing in recent months.

Europe will host six of the projected top 10 countries for battery production in 2027. Europe’s current and future battery plants come from a mix of domestic and foreign firms, including Germany’s Volkswagen, China’s CATL, and South Korea’s SK Innovation.

Can Countries Cut Ties With China?

Regardless of the growth in North America and Europe, China’s dominance is unmatched.

Battery manufacturing is just one piece of the puzzle, albeit a major one. Most of the parts and metals that make up a battery—like battery-grade lithium, electrolytes, separators, cathodes, and anodes—are primarily made in China.

Therefore, combating China’s dominance will be expensive. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. and Europe will have to invest $87 billion and $102 billion, respectively, to meet domestic battery demand with fully local supply chains by 2030.