China's battery storage exports grow faster than electric cars, outpacing the automotive sector

The world's first battery production line from CATL utilizing an intelligent humanoid robot named "Xiao Mo" at Zhongzhou Base. This robot is capable of performing high-precision manufacturing tasks. (Photo: CATL)

JAKARTA - Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) confirmed its position at the end of 2025 as the absolute leader in the global electric vehicle (EV) battery market. In second place, fellow Chinese giant BYD, also strengthened the country's hegemony by controlling 16.9 percent of the market share.

Looking back, the occurrence of electricity market reforms in China is considered as a trigger for a major surge in the energy storage sector, strengthening the global dominance of battery companies from the Bamboo Curtain Country.

Thanks to policy changes that allow electric storage systems to operate more profitably through market auctions, domestic demand is now in synergy with a surge in international demand. Throughout this year, China's battery exports, both for electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage, have reached a fantastic figure of 65 billion US dollars (equivalent to Rp. 1090 trillion).

Reported by Reuters, Monday, December 22, this surge was driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) based data centers in the United States and Europe's need to strengthen their aging power grids. In America, pairing solar panels with energy storage systems is the main solution for the energy-hungry AI data center power needs. This condition makes China's major battery cell manufacturers have to work in two shifts to meet the ever-increasing orders, making it one of the biggest economic surprises this year.

China's dominance in this sector is almost absolute, where the world's top six battery cell suppliers are all from China, including giants CATL, BYD, and HiTHIUM. Although Tesla leads in energy storage systems overall, the core components in the form of battery cells are still supplied by Chinese companies. The growth of non-automotive battery shipments even surpassed the growth of electric vehicle batteries, recording an increase of more than 50 percent compared to last year.

Domestically, the Chinese government has just launched an ambitious plan worth 35 billion US dollars to double battery storage capacity by 2027. Through policy reforms since last June, energy storage projects are now required to sell electricity through market auctions, no longer at fixed rates. This allows facility managers to maximize profits by charging when prices are low and feeding them back into the grid when electricity prices are high.

Despite being on top, Chinese manufacturers still face significant geopolitical challenges, especially from the United States' restrictive policies on investments in foreign entities deemed sensitive. However, with global battery cell shipments forecast to reach 800 gigawatt-hours next year, China's position as the "backbone" of the world's green energy transition seems to be difficult to shake by any competitor.