Energy storage cell shipments hit 467.84 GWh in H1 2026

A record quarter has put a hard number on the energy storage boom. Global cell shipments reached 467.84 GWh in the first half of 2026, up 94.8% year on year, while second-quarter shipments alone reached 262 GWh. It was the third consecutive quarter above 200 GWh, according to InfoLink Consulting’s analysis published by pv magazine.

The market is becoming less concentrated as demand outruns the capacity of its biggest suppliers. The ten largest manufacturers accounted for 82.3% of global shipments in H1 2026, down from 91.2% in H1 2025. CATL, Hithium, EVE Energy, BYD Energy Storage and CALB kept the top five positions, but their combined share fell to 56.5%. Sunwoda and Ganfeng LiEnergy were among the emerging suppliers gaining ground, with challengers ranked 11th to 15th pushing toward the top 10.

That opening is being created by a format race inside the factories. The 314 Ah cell has remained in tight supply for nearly a year, and its prices have risen by more than 15% over the past six months. Meanwhile, cells of 500 Ah and larger exceeded 10% penetration in utility-scale storage during H1 2026. Manufacturers are weighing formats including 587 Ah, 588 Ah, 648 Ah, 684 Ah and 702 Ah, as well as cells exceeding 1,000 Ah. A format that fails to gain adoption could leave a production line poorly matched to the wider supply chain.

The growth is also spreading geographically. Shipments to markets outside China reached 248.73 GWh, or around 53.2% of the global total. China’s gradual reduction of export tax rebates for energy storage batteries shaped shipments during the period: the rate fell from 9% to 6% from April 1 through December 31, 2026. The figures show that shipments to markets outside China accounted for more than half of the total.

So what changes in practice? Buyers have more manufacturers to qualify, but they are still operating in a tight market where established formats remain important and new capacity may not ramp up quickly enough. InfoLink expects that balance to persist through H2, citing several manufacturers with book-to-bill ratios above 1.2 for consecutive months and continued export front-loading ahead of Q4. It now forecasts 1,026 GWh of global energy storage cell shipments in 2026, while warning that the estimate assumes ramp-up losses, a seasonal Q4 decline in demand and year-end export activity appearing mainly in customs volumes rather than additional production.