Energy storage boom strengthens demand outlook for beaten-down lithium
A boom in battery storage has bolstered the demand outlook for lithium in 2026, driving hopes for an accelerated turnaround for an industry struggling with oversupply.
The data centre building boom in China and globally has also driven growing power storage demand for lithium, said Jinyi Su, a Wuxi-based analyst at consultancy Fubao, adding that rapid growth in lithium demand from energy storage in the second half of 2025 has surpassed expectations.
Sign up here. But China's power sector reforms helped to fuel stronger than expected demand for lithium used in batteries for power system storage in the second half of 2025, supporting a cautiously optimistic view of prospects for the new year.
The lithium market has been grappling with a supply glut since the second half of 2022, with demand failing to keep pace with surging supply fuelled by a furious price surge that year ignited by an electric vehicle battery boom. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter.
"Looking ahead, energy storage is likely to become a game changer for lithium, improving its fundamentals, but too high a price could undermine the economics of energy storage, keeping a lid on prices," Su said.
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