Critical Minerals in Grid Battery Storage
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Grid batteries are mostly lithium-ion, so they draw on the same lithium, graphite and cathode metals as electric vehicles, with vanadium flow batteries as a smaller alternative. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. battery storage capacity grew from 43.6 gigawatts at the end of 2025 to nearly 52 gigawatts by mid-2026 and that operators plan 14 gigawatts more in the second half of 2026. USGS says energy grid storage is one of the demand drivers behind the 88% of world lithium that goes into batteries.
~52 GW
U.S. battery storage capacity in mid-2026, up from 43.6 GW at the end of 2025
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 7 August 2026
70%
average annual growth of U.S. battery storage capacity over the last three years
88%
of world lithium use in 2025 was batteries, with grid storage a named driver
>90%
of U.S. operating battery capacity at the end of 2018 used lithium-ion (latest EIA chemistry split we found)
Which minerals do grid batteries use?
The table covers the minerals that published sources tie to stationary storage. Grid batteries use the same cell families as vehicles, so the cathode and anode pages explain the chemistry, and this page records the storage-specific facts.
| Mineral | Role in storage | What the source reports |
|---|---|---|
| Lithium | Cathode and electrolyte of lithium-ion systems. | Batteries were 88% of 2025 world use. Concern about oversupply kept prices low in early 2025; EV sales growth and battery energy storage demand contributed to price rises in the second half. Spot carbonate in China rose from about $9,300 to about $10,300 per tonne between January and November 2025. |
| Graphite | Anode material in lithium-ion cells. | Synthetic graphite powder competes with natural graphite in battery uses (USGS). China supplied 55% of U.S. imports of battery anode material in 2025. |
| Cobalt | Cathode in nickel-manganese-cobalt cells; absent from iron-phosphate cells. | Cobalt-free iron and phosphorus cathodes held significant market share in China, and the cobalt content of lithium-ion batteries is falling (USGS). |
| Vanadium | Electrolyte in vanadium redox flow batteries. | VRFBs continued to be used in large-scale storage in 2025 for safety, long cycle life and medium- to long-duration use. High capital costs and limited availability of high-purity vanadium feedstock remained key challenges, and VRFBs faced competition from other chemistries. |
Sources: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 chapters on lithium, graphite, cobalt and vanadium.
How fast is grid storage growing in the United States?
U.S. battery storage capacity grew at an average of 70% a year over the last three years, according to EIA. By the end of 2025 the power system had 43.6 gigawatts of operating battery storage, operators added 8.3 gigawatts in the first half of 2026, and they plan 14 gigawatts in the second half, 26 gigawatts in 2027 and 14 gigawatts in 2028. EIA's article does not name a chemistry.
Does grid storage use the same minerals as electric vehicles?
Mostly yes, with a different cost emphasis. EIA reported in 2019 that more than 90% of U.S. operating battery capacity used lithium-ion, and that two vanadium flow systems totalling 4.4 megawatts had been installed in 2017. SNE Research counted 72% of cathode material shipped worldwide in 2025 as lithium iron phosphate, which contains no cobalt or nickel (see battery materials companies). Because both markets pull on lithium and graphite, storage and vehicle demand compete for the same supply, which USGS cites as a factor in the second-half 2025 lithium price rise.
Frequently asked questions
What minerals are used in grid-scale batteries?
Most grid-scale batteries are lithium-ion, using lithium, graphite and either iron-phosphate or nickel-manganese-cobalt cathodes. Vanadium is used in redox flow batteries, which USGS says were still used in large-scale storage in 2025 but face high capital costs and limited high-purity feedstock.
How much battery storage does the United States have?
EIA reports 43.6 gigawatts of U.S. battery storage at the end of 2025 and nearly 52 gigawatts by mid-2026. Operators plan to add 14 gigawatts in the second half of 2026, 26 gigawatts in 2027 and 14 gigawatts in 2028.
Does grid storage need cobalt?
Not necessarily. Cobalt-free iron and phosphorus cathodes held significant market share in China according to USGS, and lithium iron phosphate made up 72% of cathode material shipped worldwide in 2025 according to SNE Research. Nickel-manganese-cobalt cells still use cobalt.
Are vanadium flow batteries a serious alternative to lithium-ion?
Vanadium redox flow batteries are used for large-scale, medium- to long-duration storage because of safety and cycle life. USGS lists high capital costs and limited availability of high-purity vanadium as key challenges, and EIA found lithium-ion in more than 90% of U.S. capacity in 2018.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Battery storage capacity averaged 70% growth over the last three years (7 August 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Most utility-scale batteries in the United States are made of lithium-ion (30 October 2019). Latest EIA chemistry split we found; 2018 data
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: lithium
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: vanadium, graphite and cobalt. Chapters read as PDFs
- SNE Research: global cathode material shipments, 2025. Source of the 72% lithium iron phosphate share, as used on our battery materials page
