Batteries Are the Next Target in China’s Clean-Energy Conquest
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No matter what Tesla has planned, the U.S. is set to lag China in the battery race if current trends continue.
Instead of manufacturing in America, entrepreneurs are increasingly looking to China to turn cutting-edge battery research into reality. The country is expected to capture 65% of the battery market by 2021, with much of what remains left for Europe, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
“In 10 years China owns lithium-ion batteries,” says Matthew Nordan, managing director of MNL Partners, an energy project development firm. “The vast majority of volume–and the vast majority of profitmaking–is likely to be in China.”
The anticipated Chinese dominance of the industry comes as the government sees an opportunity to become a clean-energy leader providing solutions to the rest of the world–and reaping the profits. China already manufactures more than half of the world’s solar panels, and doing the same with batteries would leave China controlling an industry worth $40 billion a year by 2025, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis.
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