Battery trade war hits booming datacenter industry
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) could become standard at datacenters as AI infrastructure expand, with analysts forecasting 20 GW of capacity deployed over the next decade.
Hyperscalers building AI facilities progressively view BESS as essential to their energy mix, according to financial analyst Jefferies in a report shared with The Register.
“With hyperscalers increasingly embracing some permutation of grid-connection and BTM (behind the meter) backup generation, we see BESS as a complementary resource to enable flexible load management, accelerate speed to interconnection, and provide backup capacity in a redundant form factor,” the report states.
Battery systems serve primarily as backup energy alongside generator sets and other forms of storage such as solid-oxide fuel cells. Jefferies expects most BESS growth to come struggling from utilities struggling with surging demand for energy from electric vehicles and datacenter prolifereation.
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