South Korea pushes K-battery firms to capture booming global ESS market

In the first half of 2026, worldwide ESS shipments jumped to 461 GWh, a 71% increase from the previous year, while EV battery demand grew only 20%. Drivers include AI data-center power needs and expanding renewable generation. South Korea announced a Battery Industry Technology Roadmap, earmarking more than 250 billion won for sodium-ion and solid-state research and roughly 8 trillion won for process upgrades and material localisation by 2030.

A new tax credit for domestic battery production and a record-high 1,180 MW ESS auction aim to spur local manufacturing and grid-stabilisation projects. Chinese companies hold about 55% of the ESS market, but projected shortages in Europe and North America could allow Korean firms, many of which already have overseas plants, to increase their share. Additional U.S. policy shifts and tariffs on Chinese ESS products further open the market for Korean producers.