In the first quarter of 2020, there was a decrease in large-scale battery deployment, but this slowdown was only temporary as there were over 1GWh deployments worldwide in each subsequent quarter. The latest company and project database report from IHSMarkit emphasizes that the fourth quarter of 2020 was a record breaking period, with installations exceeding 2.2GWh (excluding residential buildings). This resulted in a total of over 5GWh in 2020, compared to 3.2GWh in the previous year.

The scale of projects in 2020 has also significantly increased. In the United States, the MossLanding project has become the largest single cell battery energy storage project. It even surpasses the 202.8 megawatt hour Qinghai solar farm built earlier this year - but it should be noted that IHSMarkit tracked over 5200 projects in its project database and invited the company to submit a project list.

In 2021, the United States is expected to account for 50% of the global market, which has increased threefold since 2020, as energy storage project owners will utilize the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). In Europe, driven by new frequency response, capacity markets, and opportunities for renewable energy integration, a 70% annual installation increase will be achieved in 2021.

This year will be a record breaking upward period, but it also marks the beginning of a sustained upward trend in the industry until 2030. Most of this increase will come from the pre balance sheet sector, and it is expected that larger utility scale projects will become the real engine for the rise of the energy storage industry in the coming years. The United States will continue to expand its dominant position in the global market and gain market share by 2023. However, starting from 2025, the low-carbon plan in mainland China will lead to a rapid increase in the region, driving the Asia Pacific region to account for 44% of annual installation by 2030.