Finding
China leads every stage of the battery chain, and LFP has made grid storage a Chinese-cell business even where systems are integrated elsewhere
CATL (39.2%) and BYD (16.4%) installed more than half of the 1,187 GWh of EV batteries fitted in 2025 (SNE Research); LG Energy Solution was third at 9.2%, and six of the top ten makers are Chinese. Upstream, China refines most of the world's lithium and cobalt and makes more than 90% of anode material.
Grid storage runs almost entirely on LFP cells, the chemistry Chinese makers scaled first. Integrators outside China, including Tesla Energy and Fluence, buy cells from CATL, EVE, Hithium and others or are standing up local LFP lines: LG Energy Solution makes LFP storage cells in Michigan, and Tesla is building its own LFP line in Nevada. Sungrow, BYD, CATL and Huawei compete directly as system suppliers.
Western cell projects thinned in 2025 and 2026. Northvolt went bankrupt and its plants passed to Lyten; ACC paused its German and Italian plants; Ford and SK On unwound BlueOval SK; Li-Cycle's hubs went to Glencore and Powin's to FlexGen. The plants that run are mostly Korean and Japanese joint ventures with US automakers, Panasonic's Nevada and Kansas sites, and Tesla's own lines.
Cells
Cell manufacturers
Linked names have a full profile. Plants listed are the main sites, not a complete list; see Battery Cell Gigafactories.
| Manufacturer | HQ | Chemistries | Main plants | Main customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CATL | China | LFP, NCM, sodium-ion (Naxtra) | Ningde, Yibin, Liyang; Arnstadt (Germany), Debrecen (Hungary); LFP JV with Stellantis in Zaragoza | Tesla, BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Li Auto, NIO; licensed LFP to Ford |
| BYD (FinDreams Battery) | China | LFP Blade, sodium-ion | Chongqing, Shenzhen, Hefei and other Chinese sites; Thailand, Hungary | BYD, Tesla (Berlin), Toyota, Xiaomi; BESS |
| LG Energy Solution | South Korea | NCM, NCMA, LFP, 46-series cylindrical | Ochang, Nanjing, Wroclaw; Holland (Michigan), Queen Creek (Arizona), Ultium Cells, HL-GA (Georgia), NextStar (Windsor) | GM, Hyundai, Tesla, Stellantis, Honda, Ford; storage |
| CALB | China | LFP, NCM | Changzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu; Sines (Portugal) planned | GAC Aion, Changan, XPeng, Leapmotor |
| Gotion High-Tech | China | LFP | Hefei; Göttingen (Germany); Morocco and Slovakia planned | Volkswagen, Chery, storage |
| SK On | South Korea | NCM pouch | Commerce (Georgia), Stanton (Tennessee, ex-BlueOval SK), Komárom (Hungary), Yancheng | Hyundai-Kia, Ford, Volkswagen |
| Panasonic Energy | Japan | NCA cylindrical (2170, 4680) | Sparks (Nevada, with Tesla), De Soto (Kansas), Wakayama, Suminoe | Tesla, Lucid, Mazda |
| Samsung SDI | South Korea | NCA, NCM prismatic and cylindrical | Cheonan, Göd (Hungary), StarPlus Energy (Kokomo, Indiana) | BMW, Stellantis, Rivian, storage |
| EVE Energy | China | LFP prismatic, 46-series cylindrical | Huizhou, Jingmen; Debrecen (Hungary), Malaysia | BMW (46-series), storage integrators |
| Sunwoda | China | LFP, NCM | Shenzhen, Yiwu; Hungary planned | Geely, Li Auto, Renault, storage |
| Hithium | China | LFP storage cells | Xiamen, Chongqing; module plant in Texas | Storage integrators |
| AESC | Japan | NCM, LFP | Zama, Sunderland, Douai, Smyrna (Tennessee), Jiangsu | Nissan, Renault, BMW, Mercedes-Benz |
| Tesla | US | NCA and NMC 4680 cylindrical; LFP for storage | 4680 lines at Giga Texas and Fremont; LFP storage cell line at Giga Nevada | Cybertruck, Model Y, Megapack (in-house plus CATL and others) |
| PowerCo | Germany | Unified prismatic cell (LFP, NMC) | Salzgitter; Valencia and St. Thomas (Ontario) under construction | Volkswagen Group |
| ACC | France | NMC prismatic | Billy-Berclau Douvrin; German and Italian plants paused | Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz |
BESS
Grid storage system suppliers
System suppliers integrate cells, power conversion, thermal management and controls into containers. See BESS products.
| Company | HQ | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Energy | US | Megapack 3, Megablock, Powerwall 3 | Lathrop (California), Shanghai Megafactory, Brookshire (Texas); Autobidder trading software |
| Sungrow | China | PowerTitan 3.0, PowerStack | Own power conversion; one of the largest BESS shippers worldwide |
| BYD Energy Storage | China | MC Cube-T, Haohan | Blade-cell systems, vertically integrated from cell to container |
| CATL | China | TENER Stack, EnerOne, EnerC | Sells systems as well as cells; TENER claims zero degradation in the first five years |
| Fluence Energy | US | Gridstack Pro, Smartstack, Mosaic software | Siemens and AES owned; US-made cells from AESC Tennessee |
| Hithium | China | ∞Power storage systems | LFP cells to containers |
| Huawei Digital Power | China | Smart String grid-forming ESS | String-level power conversion; large Middle East projects |
| Wärtsilä Energy Storage | Finland | Quantum3, GEMS software | Integrator; island and utility grids |
| LG ES Vertech | US | Integrated LFP systems | LG Energy Solution's US integrator; cells from Michigan |
| Envision Energy | China | Envision storage systems | Paired with its wind and green-ammonia projects |
| Trina Storage | China | Elementa | Solar maker's storage arm |
| FlexGen | US | HybridOS software, integrated systems | Bought Powin's assets after its 2025 bankruptcy |
Materials
Materials refiners and recyclers
See Battery Supply Chain and Battery Recycling.
| Company | HQ | Products | Sites and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ganfeng Lithium | China | Lithium hydroxide and carbonate, lithium metal | Mining (Argentina, Mali, Australia stakes) and refining |
| Tianqi Lithium | China | Lithium hydroxide and carbonate | Greenbushes stake (Australia), SQM stake |
| Albemarle | US | Lithium hydroxide and carbonate | Chile, Australia, China; Kings Mountain (North Carolina) restart |
| Tesla lithium refinery | US | Battery-grade lithium hydroxide | Robstown, Texas; spodumene feed |
| Huayou Cobalt | China | Cobalt, nickel, precursors | Indonesia HPAL nickel, Congo cobalt |
| CNGR | China | Nickel-cobalt precursors (pCAM) | Indonesia nickel, Morocco plant |
| BTR New Material | China | Natural and synthetic graphite anode | China, Indonesia, Morocco |
| Umicore | Belgium | Cathode materials, recycling | Hoboken smelter-refinery; Ontario cathode plant paused |
| POSCO Future M | South Korea | Cathode and anode materials | Korea; Quebec cathode JV with GM |
| Brunp Recycling | China | Recycled nickel, cobalt, lithium, precursors | CATL subsidiary; Hubei and Guangdong |
| GEM | China | Recycled precursors, nickel and cobalt | China, Indonesia |
| Redwood Materials | US | Recycled nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper; cathode | Carson City (Nevada); South Carolina campus paused; Redwood Energy second-life storage |
| Ascend Elements | US | Recycled pCAM and cathode | Covington (Georgia); Hopkinsville (Kentucky) scaled back |
| Glencore (ex Li-Cycle) | Switzerland | Black mass, recycled metals | Bought Li-Cycle's hubs in 2025 after its insolvency |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- Battery and BESS Manufacturers
- Sources
- SNE Research (February 2026); company filings and releases; bankruptcy court records (Northvolt, Li-Cycle, Powin)
- Updated
- October 2026