How Batteries Are Reshaping the Global Energy System

By Robert Rapier - Sep 01, 2025

• Global grid storage capacity more than doubled in 2024 to 126 GW, with China, the U.S., and Europe leading growth.
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• Batteries are shifting from niche technology to core infrastructure, underpinning the clean energy grid much like pipelines supported the fossil fuel era.
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• Investment opportunities extend across the ecosystem - from manufacturers and integrators to utilities, developers, and software providers.
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As the global energy system adds more intermittent renewables, one fact is becoming increasingly clear: Affordable, large-scale energy storage remains the enabling holy grail for these clean energy sources. 

Solar and wind are providing exponentially growing amounts of zero-carbon electricity, but they are still beholden to the weather and the rotation of the Earth. The sun sets and the wind dies down, but the grid must still hum along at perfect balance. That’s where grid-scale battery storage steps in.

The reality is that power must be dispatchable. A megawatt-hour generated at noon on a sunny day in California isn’t nearly as valuable if it can’t be shifted to power homes at 7 p.m., when demand peaks and solar output plunges. Battery storage makes that possible.

Although the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, actively phases out several clean energy tax credits, the OBBBA cements the federal Investment Tax Credit for standalone energy storage well into the 2030s.

What Is Grid-Scale Storage?

Grid-scale battery energy storage systems are not like Tesla Powerwalls for homes. They are massive installations—sometimes the size of football fields—capable of storing hundreds or thousands of megawatt-hours of electricity. Positioned at the heart of the grid, they:

• Balance supply and demand across regions
• Smooth renewable peaks and valleys
• Provide ancillary services like frequency regulation and voltage support
• Reduce reliance on costly, carbon-heavy peaker plants

Most of today’s systems are lithium-ion, but alternatives like sodium-ion, flow batteries, and iron-air designs are emerging to extend storage from hours to days—critical for true grid resilience.

Parsing the Data

The 2025 Statistical Review underscores the pace of change. In 2024, global grid storage capacity reached 126 gigawatts—more than double the 59 GW recorded just a year earlier. While that’s still modest compared with the 1,865 GW of installed solar capacity worldwide, the trajectory is remarkable. 

Over the past decade, grid storage has grown at an average annual rate of 75%, echoing the explosive early growth once seen in solar and wind power. Multiple countries There are three key areas globally in which BESS is growing rapidly:

• United States: Capacity rose from 0.2 GW in 2013 to 28 GW in 2024, with California and Texas leading the charge. Most new storage is paired directly with solar.
• China: Now the global leader, growing from near zero in 2013 to 75 GW in 2024—over half of the world’s total—reflecting its industrial-scale decarbonization push.
• Europe: More fragmented but accelerating, reaching 11 GW in 2024. The UK, Germany, and Ireland are leading, spurred by the REPowerEU initiative and energy security concerns.

Investment Implications

Battery storage is shifting from niche technology to core infrastructure. Just as pipelines and transmission lines underpinned the fossil fuel economy, batteries are becoming the scaffolding of the clean energy grid.

The winners won’t be limited to battery manufacturers, though they remain central. Companies scaling lithium-ion production—and those advancing next-generation chemistries—are well positioned. So are engineering and construction firms that integrate batteries into renewable projects, as well as software and grid optimization providers that make storage profitable to operate.

Utilities and renewable developers are also entering the mix, treating storage as critical infrastructure that enhances project economics and provides dispatchable power. Even traditional fossil-heavy utilities are adopting storage as both a hedge and a compliance tool.

Conclusion

Battery storage is no longer a side bet—it is fast becoming the key enabling technology for continued expansion of intermittent renewables. For investors, opportunities span an entire ecosystem: manufacturers, integrators, utilities, developers, and software providers.

Much like the early years of solar and wind, storage is scaling at extraordinary rates. The difference is this time it’s the technology that makes the rest of the clean energy puzzle finally fit together.

By Robert Rapier

 

Trump Envoy Pushes Critical Minerals Agenda in Uzbekistan

By Eurasianet - Sep 01, 2025

• Special Envoy Paolo Zampolli arrived in Tashkent on August 28 to deepen U.S.-Uzbek ties, with a focus on critical minerals.
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• Meetings with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized expanding cooperation in resource development, technology, and trade.
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• Zampolli’s visit also includes public diplomacy events to bolster America’s image, from Independence Day celebrations to cultural outreach.

A Trump administration emissary is making an extended visit to Uzbekistan with the apparent aim of advancing the US critical minerals agenda.

Paolo Zampolli, the White House’s Special Envoy for Global Partnerships, arrived in Tashkent on August 28 with a stated goal of building “enduring ties that sustain the strength and vitality of US diplomacy,” according to a statement issued by the US Embassy in Tashkent.

The Trump administration's foreign policy toward Central Asia has placed heavy emphasis on expanding trade and widening access to the region’s abundant supplies of critical minerals. Meeting in April with an Uzbek journalist, the US envoy in Tashkent, Jonathan Henick, praised what he described as an “unprecedented level” of diplomatic engagement between the United States and Uzbekistan during the first months of 2025. 

Zampolli met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev shortly after his arrival in the country. “During the meeting, issues of the further expansion of Uzbek-American strategic partnership and multifaceted cooperation were discussed in detail,” according to a statement issued by the Uzbek president’s office.

“A constructive political dialogue is developing,” the statement added. “Great potential for promoting cooperation projects in the field of mineral resources, aviation, electrical engineering, agriculture, digital technologies, finance, innovation, education and other priority areas was noted.”

The US embassy statement noted Zampolli will participate in a variety of public diplomacy events in Uzbekistan designed to burnish the US image in the country. Those events include joining Mirziyoyev in marking Uzbek Independence Day, meeting with players of the Uzbek national soccer team, which will play in the World Cup tournament to be held in the United States next year, and attending the opening of American Corner Tashkent, a venue dedicated to promoting American values.

Zampolli is a longtime business acquaintance of Trump and has served as the Caribbean island nation of Dominica’s ambassador to the United Nations.

By Eurasianet

 

UK Could Allow Oil and Gas Exploration for Tiebacks to Producing Fields

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Sep 02, 2025

The UK government, which has pledged not to issue new oil and gas exploration licenses, plans to offer operators flexibility and allow them to explore the potential of tiebacks to link adjacent resources to existing oil and gas hubs in the North Sea, a senior figure in Scotland from the ruling Labour party told the Financial Times.

“Even if it is only a marginal increase [in production], why wouldn’t we give it to them,” the Labour official told FT.

The UK government, earlier this year, launched a consultation on the clean future of the North Sea industry, which included delivering the Labour commitment not to issue new licenses to explore new oil and gas fields in the UK. The consultation also engages with industry on how to manage existing fields, which will continue to make an important contribution during the clean energy transition, for the entirety of their lifespan.

Industry, however, says that more exploration and investment would reduce the growing need for imported oil and gas and would strengthen the domestic supply chain and help it transition to providing clean energy solutions, such as offshore wind, for example.

OEUK, the leading offshore industry body, said in June that an independent study it had commissioned from analysts Westwood Global Energy Group showed that over 7.3 billion barrels of oil and gas are “within reach of existing infrastructure – making them viable as tiebacks to existing platforms.”

The proximity to existing hubs will be key because developing fields as tiebacks reduces costs, lowers emissions, and extends the life of existing critical infrastructure, OEUK said.

However, many of these hubs are approaching end-of-life, and without timely investment, the opportunity to develop these resources could be lost, the industry body added.

“The geology has not changed – just the mindset,” Westwood Global Energy Group said in its study.

“While political rhetoric paints UK production in terminal decline, the subsurface still holds untapped potential. What is needed is a new perspective.”  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

Russia and China Ink Deal for Massive New Gas Pipeline

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Sep 02, 2025

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom on Tuesday signed an agreement with China’s state energy firm CNPC to build a second huge natural gas pipeline from Russia to China, Gazprom’s CEO Alexey Miller said. 

Russia bets on selling increased volumes of energy products to China after losing Europe as a key oil and gas export market following Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Gazprom and CNPC signed today a “legally binding memorandum” on the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline from Russia to China via Mongolia, Russian media quoted Miller as telling reporters in Beijing. 

Power of Siberia 2 has been a topic of discussions between Russia and China for years but no progress has been made so far. 

Currently, Russia supplies pipeline gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline, one of the biggest projects recently completed by Gazprom and the first conduit for Russian gas to China.  

The Power of Siberia 2 pipeline is designed to ship gas from Russia’s Western Siberia Altai region to northeast China via Mongolia.  

An agreement on the Power of Siberia 2 has been elusive due to some sticking points, including the price at which Gazprom will deliver the gas.

The memorandum signed on Tuesday doesn’t include details and issues such as prices or capacity commitments, so the key sticking points remain. 

“It should be understood that the project of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline construction and the Soyuz Vostok gas pipeline construction, the transit gas pipeline via Mongolia and related gas transport facilities in China, it will now be the largest, having the greatest scale and the most capital-intensive project in the gas industry globally,” Russian news agencies quoted Miller as saying on Tuesday. 

Russia touted the project as the biggest ever in the global gas industry, while China has yet to confirm the deal, which is light on details.  

Miller himself acknowledged that Russia and China have yet to discuss issues related to financing and the price of supply.  

Sanctioned Russian Arctic LNG 2 Project Is Shipping Cargoes

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Sep 02, 2025

The sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia has accelerated cargo loadings and shipments in recent weeks, in a sign that the facility has now found its first customer after more than a year, and new buyers may have emerged—all in China.

Arctic LNG 2 is under sanctions by the United States, the EU, and the UK, which have also blacklisted many of the LNG vessels thought to be servicing the project’s output. The Russian export project has struggled for more than a year to find any buyer willing to risk secondary sanctions.

It appears that Arctic LNG 2 is done waiting and is now sending off loaded LNG cargoes, which could be testing the Trump Administration’s willingness to sanction Russia’s LNG customers in China.

Last week, a sixth LNG tanker loaded from the project in the Arctic this year, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing vessel-tracking data by Vortexa and Kpler.

In recent weeks, signs have emerged that Arctic LNG 2 is coming back to life after a year of no activity and is looking for buyers in Asia.

La Perouse, a tanker sanctioned by the UK, loaded LNG and departed from Arctic LNG 2 on August 30-31, according to the data cited by Reuters.

Last week, a cargo from the facility docked at a Chinese import terminal in what appears to be Arctic LNG 2, testing the current U.S. willingness to enforce sanctions. The Arctic Mulan LNG tanker arrived at the Beihai LNG terminal, and China received the cargo, making it the first-ever actual exported cargo out of the Russian facility.

Six laden vessels are in transit, Ashley Sherman, senior LNG analyst at Vortexa, wrote on LinkedIn last week.

“In contrast to 2024, these sanctioned vessels have not spoofed or deactivated their AIS signals,” Sherman said, adding that “This year, Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 activity is no longer in the shadows.”

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

India’s Electricity Generation Jumps as Industry Rebounds

By Michael Kern - Sep 02, 2025

India’s manufacturing activity, which consumes about half of the country’s power supply, surged in August to the highest level in 17 years, driving the fastest growth in electricity generation in five months. 

India saw a 4% rise in power generation in August, according to a Reuters analysis of data from Grid India, the federal grid operator.

Industrial activity, which began to recover in July and soared in August to a 2008 high, was the key driver of higher electricity generation in one of the fastest-growing developing economies. 

India’s manufacturing activity, as measured by the HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) compiled by S&P Global, signaled the fastest improvement in operating conditions for 17 and a half years.

Strong demand continues to underpin robust increases in factory orders and production, S&P Global noted. 

As the manufacturing sector accounts for half of India’s power demand, electricity generation jumped in August by the most since March this year. Further improvements are likely in the coming two quarters as the June-September monsoon season with heavy rains is coming to a close. 

Doubts remain about how India’s massive manufacturing industry would cope with the now-hiked 50% tariffs on Indian goods imported into the U.S., with 25% of the tariff due to India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. 

Still, India’s power demand from the business is rising and generation responds. 

The higher power output helped generation from coal—which remains India’s top electricity source—post an annual increase in August for the first month in five months. 

Despite the lowest coal prices in Asia in four years, India’s coal power generation dipped in May to the lowest since the Covid lockdowns of 2020, as a lack of heatwaves and soaring renewable energy installations and generation pushed down coal demand in the electricity sector. 

In July, India boasted achieving five years ahead of schedule its target to have 50% of its installed electricity capacity coming from non-fossil fuel sources. 

This installed capacity, however, does not mean renewable power generation will soon replace coal in India, especially if grid constraints and battery and transmission delays persist.   

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

GOOD NEWS 

Germany already met its 2028 goal for reducing coal-fired power

Bloomberg News | September 1, 2025 | 

Coal-fired power plant in Lünen, Germany. (Image by Daniel Grothe, Flickr.)

Germany has already met its 2028 goal for reducing coal-fired power generation, so won’t need to order the shutdown of any plants for a second year running, the country’s regulator said.

Germany has an interim 2028 target of reducing coal-fired power by 8.7 gigawatts, and as of Sept. 1 it had exceeded this level by about 10%, the Federal Network Agency said on its website on Monday.

Almost two thirds of Germany’s electricity comes from renewables and excess solar power production has frequently pushed prices below zero, making burning coal less profitable. Yet Europe’s largest economy remains heavily dependent on the fossil fuel and is still the European Union’s biggest polluter.

The country plans to completely phase out coal-fired power by 2038, but some large lignite-burning plants that are connected to mining operations have been given more time to shut down to mitigate job losses. Hard-coal power plants and smaller lignite-burning facilities, which initially had the option to join auctions for voluntary shutdowns until 2026, can now be halted if the regulator deems it necessary.

Coal plant operators also have to buy carbon allowances under the EU Emissions Trading system, where prices have fluctuated widely this year between €60 and €84 a ton, and are currently around €74.

(By Petra Sorge)

Aclara secures $5M US funding for Brazilian rare earth project

Staff Writer | September 2, 2025 | 

Carina represents one of two cornerstone assets held by Aclara. Credit: Aclara Resources

Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) has received financial backing from the US government for one of its two rare earth assets in the Americas, in the latest example of Western nations attempting to build its own supply chain to counter China’s minerals dominance.

In a press release Tuesday, the company announced that the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed up to $5 million to support the development of its Carina heavy rare earths project in Goiás, Brazil.

Specifically, the funds — to be provided under DFC’s Project Development Program — will go towards a feasibility study that is scheduled for completion in early 2026. Work on the feasibility began in July, and is being conducted by Hatch Ltd. as a continuation of the pre-feasibility, due later this month.

“We are deeply honored to have been selected by the US DFC as a recipient of the project development funds. This initial investment is not only a validation of Aclara’s strategy, but also an important first step toward a larger commitment from DFC once we complete the feasibility study for the Carina project,” stated Aclara’s CEO Ramón Barúa.

The DFC funding may be converted into equity of the company in the future. This can be triggered once Aclara completes a single financing of $50 million or more, or multiple financings of at least $75 million, within 12 months to fund the Carina project’s construction. Upon Aclara completing the financing(s), DFC will also have a preferential option to provide or arrange financing.

Shares of Aclara rose to a 52-week high of C$1.57 on the funding announcement. By 10:30 a.m., it traded 5.5% higher at C$1.53 for a market capitalization of C$332.2 million ($233.6 million).

Key heavy rare earth asset

In July, Bloomberg reported that Aclara’s management held talks with US government agencies for possible financing toward its $1.5 billion plan to mine rare earths in Latin America. The company, which is 57% owned by the Hochschild Group, is developing two ionic clay deposits in Brazil and Chile, with Carina being its flagship.

Aclara considers Carina to be a key rare earth asset that could reduce Western reliance on China, which currently accounts for 90% of the global supply. Chief executive Barua told Reuters last year that once in operation, Carina could produce about 13% of China’s rare earth output each year.

According to a preliminary economic assessment, Carina could generate on an annual basis as much as 191 tonnes of dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), heavy rare earths that are essential to electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and various defence and medical technologies. The report estimated a mine life of 22 years and a net present value of $1.5 billion, using an 8% discount rate, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 27%.

Production in 2028

The upcoming pre-feasibility study will look to improve on those economics, using a total resource count of 298 million tonnes grading 1,452 ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO) in the inferred category, for 432,000 tonnes of TREO.

On the DFC funding for the feasibility study, Barua said that it would help de-risk the development of the Carina project while providing additional confidence to potential off-takers currently evaluating its viability as a long-term supplier of heavy rare earths.

Earlier this year, Aclara launched a pilot plant to test the production of dysprosium and terbium from ionic clay extracted from Carina. The facility represents a key step in advancing the project towards production, which management is targeting for in 2028.

The company is also eyeing a similar production timeline for its Penco project in Chile, which is smaller and hosts a measured and indicated resource totalling 27.5 million tonnes grading 2,292 ppm TREO, for 62,900 tonnes of contained TREO.

 

enCore’s Dewey Burdock uranium project gains US fast-track approval

Staff Writer | September 2, 2025 | 

The Dewey Burdock project site in South Dakota. (Credit: Azarga Uranium)

enCore Energy Corp.’s (NASDAQ: EU; TSXV: EU) Dewey Burdock uranium project in South Dakota has been approved for inclusion in the Fast-41 Program by the US Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council.

The program is part of the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order on Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production.

Under the executive order, the Permitting Council identifies priority infrastructure and critical minerals projects to receive accelerated permitting review. Dewey Burdock is the first critical minerals project in South Dakota to be added to the federal fast-track system.

enCore is currently the only uranium producer in the United States. It operates the 100%-owned Rosita central processing plant (CPP) in South Texas as well as the Alta Mesa CPP in a joint venture with Boss Energy (ASX: BOE).

enCore plans to advance Dewey Burdock into development and production using the In-Situ Recovery (ISR) process. The method employs a chemical-free, water-based solution in the wellfield to dissolve uranium minerals underground, before pumping the uranium-bearing solution to a central processing plant for recovery. Compared to conventional open-pit or underground mining, ISR significantly reduces surface disturbance.

The project, wholly owned by enCore, is located in Custer and Fall River counties and will recover uranium from subsurface sandstone ore bodies.

The Dewey Burdock project hosts an estimated 17.1 million pounds of Measured and Indicated uranium resources at an average grade of 0.12% U₃O₈, with an additional 712,600 pounds classified as Inferred resources at 0.06% U₃O₈.

Shares of enCore slipped 1% in early Tuesday trading in Toronto to C$3.24 ($2.35), valuing the company at C$608 million ($441 million).