Global grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) installations grew by 29% in October 2025, compared to the same month a year earlier, new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has found.
According to the data, some 12.7GWh of new BESS operational capacity entered into operation in October, of which 8.8GWh was added by China, including one giga-scale vanadium flow battery.
BESS capacity additions
Other countries to report notable BESS capacity additions in October included the US, which added 2.3GWh of new capacity – a year-on-year increase of 13%, albeit down 40% month-on-month – and Australia, which added 980MWh, due to the rollout of the second phase of the Waratah Super Battery in New South Wales.
In Europe, meanwhile, some 500MWh of new capacity entered operation, which included a 260MWh project in Bulgaria, for which Hithium acted as system integrator.
Between January and October of this year, global BESS deployments reached 156GWh, a year-on-year increase of 38%.
In China, deployments in the BESS sector were 27% higher between January and October, while Europe was 21% higher, North America 21% higher, and the rest of the world was up 242%.
Project pipelines
In terms of project pipelines in the BESS sector, meanwhile, close to 75GWh of new capacity was proposed or announced in October, up 5% compared to the previous month.
In the year to date, total global project pipeline additions totalled 732GWh, up by nearly a quarter (23%) compared with the same period in 2024.
The largest project added in October was the Yan’an Wenergy Electricity Shaanbei-Anhui HVDC project, at 4.2GWh, while another 16 giga-scale projects were also announced, 12 of which were in Australia, which ‘continues to be one of the hottest energy storage markets globally’, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said.
For the remainder of 2025, 153GWh is in the pipeline and scheduled to enter operation, with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence noting that delays and cancellations will likely bring this number down as the year draws to a close. Read more here. [Photo © Wärtsilä Corporation]
