Record 13.6 GWh of battery energy storage capacity added in January

London-based analyst Rho Motion says it has tracked a January-record 13.6 GWh of new global battery energy storage systems (BESS) during the first month of 2025.

The electric vehicle, battery, charging, and infrastructure analyst, owned by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, said its “Battery Energy Storage Monthly Assessment” reported 81 new battery projects worldwide during January.

With two-thirds of the month’s new BESS being deployed in China, Rho Motion reported the nation’s energy storage projects included a 1.2 GWh project in Hubei province and the only three non-lithium-ion BESS activated during the month: vanadium flow batteries with a total storage capacity of 90 MWh.

The data indicates 3.9 GW/9.52 GWh in total for China, accounting for 68% / 75% of the global power and energy storage figures, respectively.

The 13.6 GWh of capacity deployed represented a rise of 94% on January 2024, according to Rho Motion, and included a 2 GWh BESS in Saudi Arabia, the only other more-than-1 GWh project activated during the month.

In the United States, the analyst said, California and Texas are hogging 61% of the BESS deployments planned this year but the states of Wisconsin, Oregon, Minnesota, Idaho, Indiana, and New Mexico are planning to install almost 9 GWh of battery energy storage capacity, between them, in 2025.

Meanwhile in Europe, with 240 MW / 470 MWh of capacity coming online, the continent accounted for close to 3.5% of BESS deployments in the month.

Rho Motion previously reported 19.4 GWh global grid deployments in November 2024, and just shy of a clear standout of 35 GWh in December 2024, as projects pushed to be commissioned before the end of the calendar year.