Battery Industry Weekly — Week 27
A quiet week on the surface, but beneath it the industry is shifting. The IEA confirmed batteries have crossed the terawatt-hour threshold. Ford started making LFP cells on American soil. And the EU battery passport deadline is now less than eight months away.
EV Battery Deployment Crosses 1.2 TWh — IEA
The International Energy Agency published its Global EV Outlook 2026 this week, and the headline number is staggering: 1.2 terawatt-hours of EV battery deployment in 2025. That is a 30% increase over 2024 and more than seven times the figure from 2020.
Light-duty vehicles still dominate, accounting for over 85% of deployment. But the fastest growth came from electric trucks, where battery demand more than doubled — driven largely by China, where one in four trucks sold in 2025 was electric.
Regionally, China accounts for 60% of global EV battery deployment. The EU holds about 15%, while the US stagnated at 10%. Emerging markets outside China represented 6%, a sign that electrification is no longer limited to a few large economies.
The average battery size for battery electric cars held steady — close to 70 kWh in the EU and below 60 kWh in China. The implication is clear: growth is coming from more vehicles, not bigger batteries. That trend favors chemistries like LFP that deliver lower cost per kilowatt-hour at moderate energy densities.
Ford Begins Building LFP Battery Cells in the US
Ford has started producing lithium iron phosphate battery cells at its Marshall, Michigan facility — making it the first major US automaker to manufacture LFP cells domestically. The cells will power Ford's upcoming $30,000 midsize electric pickup.
LFP chemistry has several advantages for mass-market EVs. It contains no cobalt or nickel, which reduces both cost and supply chain risk. It also offers excellent cycle life and thermal stability, making it safer for high-volume consumer applications. The tradeoff is lower energy density compared to NMC or NCA chemistries, but for a midsize pickup targeting mainstream buyers, the cost advantage outweighs the range penalty.
Ford's move signals a broader shift in US battery manufacturing. Until now, domestic LFP production has been dominated by Chinese companies. Ford's investment is partly enabled by US Inflation Reduction Act incentives that reward domestic battery production. If successful, it could accelerate LFP adoption across the American auto industry.
CATL Advances Solid-State Battery Pilot Production
CATL continues to move its solid-state battery program from lab to factory. The company has begun pilot production of semi-solid-state cells at an energy density of 500 Wh/kg — roughly double the density of current commercial lithium-ion cells. A new patent published in March by WIPO reveals CATL's approach: a solid sulfide electrolyte with a multi-layer cathode design that uses a fluorine-containing lithium salt to stabilize the electrolyte interface.
The timeline is ambitious but concrete. CATL is working from 20-Ah samples toward 60-Ah automotive-grade prototypes. The company aims to reach technology maturity level 7 or 8 by 2027, which represents the transition from laboratory prototypes to cells ready for pilot-scale vehicle integration. Small-batch production of all-solid-state batteries is planned for 2027, with scaled mass production targeted around 2030.
CATL has also secured a significant material commitment: a reservation of 626,000 tonnes of copper foil from Guangdong Jiayuan Technology for 2026–2028, valued at approximately €8.4 billion. Copper foil is a critical anode current collector in solid-state cell designs, and the scale of this order suggests CATL is preparing for production volumes well beyond laboratory-scale work.
Tesla 4680 Production Reaches Inflection Point
Elon Musk posted on X this week that Tesla's internal 4680 battery cell production is "getting good." The statement is brief, but the context matters: Tesla has spent years struggling to scale its dry electrode manufacturing process, which promises a 30% cost reduction over conventional wet electrode methods.
Tesla has now produced over 100 million 4680 cells. Giga Texas has reached capacity of over 6 GWh per year — enough for more than 1,000 Cybertrucks per week. The company has also built an internal cathode facility at roughly 10 GWh capacity and started early production at an LFP factory in Giga Nevada targeting 7 GWh. A lithium refinery in Robstown, Texas — the first in North America — is operational at a target capacity of 30 GWh per year.
The dry electrode breakthrough is the key enabler. Conventional electrode manufacturing uses a solvent that must be evaporated in massive ovens, consuming enormous amounts of energy. Tesla's dry process eliminates that step entirely, reducing both cost and environmental footprint. If the process is truly mature, it could reshape the economics of cylindrical cell production globally.
EU Battery Passport Deadline: Eight Months and Counting
The EU Battery Regulation's digital battery passport requirement takes effect in February 2027 — now less than eight months away. Every EV battery and industrial battery over 2 kWh placed on the EU market must carry a digital passport accessible via QR code, containing data on carbon footprint, recycled content, materials sourcing, and performance characteristics.
The European Commission published its May 2026 implementation update this year, clarifying data access rules and responsibilities for manufacturers, OEMs, and importers. The Commission also recently published new rules for calculating recycling efficiency and material recovery rates for waste batteries, which feed into the passport's recycled content verification.
Industry preparations are uneven. Large manufacturers are well into compliance programs, but many smaller suppliers are still building the data infrastructure needed to populate passport fields. The regulation requires approximately 100 data attributes per battery, and third-party verification processes can take 6–12 months. Companies that started late may struggle to meet the deadline.
Australia Dominates Grid-Scale Battery Project Pipeline
Australia continues to be the global proving ground for utility-scale battery energy storage. This week alone, three major projects advanced through the development pipeline.
BLT Energy received development approval for the Red Gully BESS in Western Australia — an 800 MW / 4,800 MWh project that would be among the largest battery installations in the world. Eku Energy submitted two 300 MW / 1,200 MWh projects for environmental assessment under Australia's EPBC Act. And Neoen Australia signed virtual battery agreements with energy retailers for 2.3 GWh across Stages 2 and 3 of its Western Downs Battery in Queensland.
Separately, South Australia's FERM tender — which was designed to be technology-neutral — produced an all-battery outcome. ASL Energy explained in an interview with Energy Storage News that batteries outcompeted other technologies on both cost and dispatchability. It is a powerful signal that battery storage is now the default choice for new capacity in favorable markets.
Battery Certification Standards Under Scrutiny After Thermal Runaway Failures
A report published by Battery Technology Online this week questioned whether current battery certification standards are adequate to prevent real-world thermal runaway failures. The article argues that existing testing protocols focus on cell-level abuse conditions — overcharge, crush, nail penetration — but do not adequately capture the cascading failure modes that occur in large battery packs installed in vehicles or buildings.
The concern is timely. As battery systems scale from tens of cells in consumer electronics to thousands of cells in EV packs and millions in grid-scale installations, the probability and consequences of thermal runaway events increase. New testing approaches, including module-level and system-level thermal propagation testing, are being adopted by standards bodies but have not yet been universally mandated.
The Week in Context
Three themes emerged from this week's news that are worth tracking:
- The terawatt-hour era is here. The IEA's confirmation that EV battery deployment crossed 1.2 TWh in 2025 changes the framing for everything — raw material demand, recycling infrastructure, grid impact. The industry is no longer niche.
- LFP is winning the affordability race. Ford building LFP cells in the US, combined with the IEA's data showing moderate battery sizes, points to a market that increasingly favors cost and safety over maximum energy density.
- Solid-state is real but not imminent. CATL's pilot production and patent activity confirm the technology is progressing, but the 2027–2030 timeline for volume production means lithium-ion will dominate for at least another half-decade.
What to Watch Next Week
- BYD's continued battery production ramp in Brazil and its implications for Latin American EV supply chains
- Further details on Tesla's dry electrode manufacturing maturity and potential licensing to other cell makers
- EU Commission guidance on battery passport data sharing between manufacturers and recyclers
- Australian BESS project financing announcements for the large-scale projects now in the pipeline
- CATL's progress from 20-Ah to 60-Ah solid-state prototypes
Sources
- IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 — Electric Vehicle Batteries
- Electrek — Ford Begins Building LFP Batteries in the US
- Electrive — CATL Makes Progress on Solid-State Battery
- Battery Technology Online — Battery Certification Standards and Thermal Runaway
- Energy Storage News — South Australia FERM Tender
- European Commission — EU Battery Regulation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest battery story this week?
The IEA's Global EV Outlook 2026 reported that EV battery deployment reached 1.2 TWh in 2025, a 30% increase from 2024. This confirms batteries are now a terawatt-hour-scale industry.
Why is Ford building LFP batteries in the US significant?
Ford is the first major US automaker to produce LFP battery cells domestically. LFP chemistry is cheaper and uses no cobalt or nickel, making it key to affordable EVs. The cells will power Ford's $30,000 midsize pickup.
Where does CATL stand on solid-state batteries?
CATL has begun pilot production of semi-solid-state batteries at 500 Wh/kg and plans small-batch all-solid-state production by 2027. The company recently filed a key patent covering sulfide electrolyte design for its next-generation cells.
What is the EU battery passport and when is it required?
The EU battery passport is a digital record containing a battery's carbon footprint, recycled content, materials sourcing, and performance data. All EV and industrial batteries over 2 kWh sold in the EU must have one by February 2027.
How is the BESS market growing?
Grid-scale battery storage is expanding rapidly. South Australia's FERM tender produced an all-battery outcome despite being technology-neutral, and multiple multi-GWh projects are advancing across Australia, India, and the US.
Disclaimer
This article summarizes publicly available news and analysis. BatteryCalculators.com does not guarantee the accuracy of third-party information. Always verify facts with primary sources before making engineering or procurement decisions. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional engineering advice.