2026 Agenda

The global battery industry is exiting its volume-at-all-costs phase and entering a capital-disciplined, margin-defined cycle. This session serves as an overview & reframes the past year’s developments through a business and financial lens, tracking how market growth, policy architecture, and cross-border investment are reshaping competitive advantage. We begin with the macro landscape, outlining how end-market demand, technology mix, and regional supply–demand balances are evolving and what that implies for pricing and utilization. We then examine the capital story-where investment is concentrating or retreating, and the drivers behind those shifts—including policy-linked incentives, cross-border flows, and changing conditions in equity and debt markets. Finally, we will recap how capital is being deployed in new application verticals to support storage in the energy gauntlet.

AI data centers are transforming into power-hungry “AI factories,” creating extreme electrical environments that legacy storage and UPS systems were never designed for. This session highlights the rising role of batteries as compute enablers—from BESS to UPS to integrated rack-level BBUs—and why the next wave of cell innovation must prioritize high-power density, resilience, and reliability. We’ll also explore how this market offers battery manufacturers a rare combination of scale and premium margins, outpacing EV and traditional ESS economics.

As the data center landscape continues to evolve, power – outside and within – has become ever-critical. And batteries are at the foundation of this – for every duration, ranging from pulsing to backup power and energy storage. As we settle into a new normal around the building, power procurement and operations of data centers in a world with hyperscalers, the lines between white space and gray space have become blurry, and the need for and premium placed on innovation for power has become exponentially important. The finance world is very focused on this as well, and capital markets surrounding the data center industry continue to evolve.

The continued digitization of data and the explosive adoption of AI in all aspects of private and commercial applications are driving unprecedented energy demands in data centers. Battery systems—rack-level BBUs and facility-scale BESS—are essential to maintaining reliable operations, yet their strategic importance is sometimes underappreciated. While batteries are often viewed as commoditized components, rapid innovation in battery technology suggests they deserve greater attention. The urgency to deploy AI and data centers on schedule, combined with cost considerations, can create challenges for thorough battery design and validation. Decision-makers should balance these pressures by recognizing that proven technologies offer stability, while new solutions may bring meaningful advancements. To promote resilience and safety, it is recommended that customers and investors implement performance metrics designed to incentivize vendors who provide advanced, dependable, and safe battery solutions. At the same time, they should also invest in vendors pursuing creative innovations in battery chemistry and system architecture, pushing the boundaries to optimize performance, safety, and cost.