March 23, 2026
Global demand for stationary energy storage continues to expand, driven by investments in technologies that strengthen grid reliability and support the energy transition. In fact, according to Albemarle analysis, global energy storage system production is forecast to grow 25 to 60 percent year over year in 2026, underscoring the technology’s expanding role in the future energy system.
Rising electricity demand is being driven by several converging trends, particularly the continued expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers.
“The growth of AI continues to accelerate,” said Hiroyuki Taki, business developer at Albemarle. “Data centers require much more electricity than previous digital systems, and that demand is increasing.”
Unlike earlier computing environments that relied on smaller, distributed servers, today’s cloud and AI infrastructure operates in large-scale facilities filled with high-performance computing equipment that runs continuously and requires significant cooling. As a result, data centers are among the most energy-intensive building types. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, data centers can consume 10 to 50 times more electricity per floor space than a typical commercial office building.
And unlike power plants, which generate electricity at a consistent rate, data centers and other large consumers require significant power at specific times. That imbalance makes energy storage essential.
“Electricity demand is not constant,” said Taki “Huge amounts of electricity are needed at certain times, and power plants cannot always control that timing. Batteries help store energy and deliver it when it is needed.”
Batteries can provide capacity during peak times reducing the load on the grid, preventing outages, and delaying the need to upgrade grid infrastructure like power lines and power plants. They are currently also the only form of energy storage that can be installed in the same timeframe as data centers, making them essential to AI growth.
