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BloombergNEF forecasts 45% jump in 2026 global battery storage deployments to record 188 GW

BloombergNEF's second-half 2026 Energy Storage Market Outlook projects global battery storage installations will grow 45% year over year to a record 188 GW and 535 GWh, an upward revision from its earlier 158 GW estimate. The report models dedicated on-site batteries for AI data centers for the first time and sees cumulative capacity rising tenfold to 3.1 TW by 2036.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 23, 2026 · Updated 10/23/2026

Global battery energy storage deployments will grow 45% year over year in 2026 to a record 188 gigawatts and 535 gigawatt-hours, according to the second-half 2026 edition of BloombergNEF's Energy Storage Market Outlook, published October 22. The forecast, which excludes pumped hydro, is a substantial upward revision from the 158 GW estimate in the first-half edition and builds on the 112 GW installed globally in 2025.

BloombergNEF expects cumulative worldwide storage capacity to expand tenfold over the next decade, from 307 GW and 747 GWh at the end of 2025 to 3,098 GW and 11,106 GWh by 2036 - an 8% upward revision of its previous long-term estimate. Mainland China, the United States and Australia are projected to account for 62% of capacity added this decade, with India expected to deploy more than 6 GW this year alone. Annual additions are forecast to climb further to 209 GW and 638 GWh in 2027, driven by accelerated buildout in emerging markets including Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Chile and Japan.

For the first time, the outlook explicitly models on-site battery installations dedicated to data centers. That segment grew from 0.5 GW and 1.4 GWh deployed in 2025 to a forecast 4.9 GW and 7.4 GWh in 2026, and is expected to reach 6.3 GW and 8.4 GWh in 2027 - a level BloombergNEF expects to be a near-term peak as technology companies use flexible batteries to manage intense compute demand without overstressing grids.

The report also tracks the co-location of batteries with solar as a dominant industry trend. A global total of 69.3 GW and 195.6 GWh of operational utility-scale storage was paired with 303.6 GW of solar capacity at the end of 2025, and roughly 61% of that co-located capacity was in China. India, the Philippines and Vietnam have introduced mandates promoting solar-plus-storage integration, while India, South Korea and Brazil have adopted domestic-content incentive policies.

Official source: Energy-Storage.news ↗