BYD displaces Tesla from the top of energy storage systems

BYD has unseated Tesla from the position of the world's largest integrator of energy storage systems. According to new data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence published this week, the Chinese company supplied over 60 GWh of energy storage systems globally in 2025, giving it a 13% share of the global market. During the same period, Tesla deployed 46.7 GWh and holds about 10%.

Chinese expansion in the BESS sector

The change in the leader for stationary battery systems continues a trend already visible in the electric vehicle market, where BYD last year overtook Tesla in global electric car sales.

New data also illustrates China's growing dominance in the stationary rechargeable battery systems segment: eight of the ten largest BESS (battery energy storage systems) integrators are Chinese companies. The only Western company in the top 10, besides Tesla, remains "Fluence" – a joint venture between "Siemens" and "AES".

Which players dominate the ranking

"Sungrow" takes third place with about a 9% market share, followed by "CRRC Zhuzhou", "CATL" and "Hyper Strong" – each with a share of about 6%.

"Huawei" and "Envision" round out the list with approximately 5% each, while "Fluence" and "Sunwoda" hold about 4% of the market each.

The market is growing explosively, China is pulling ahead

The shift at the top comes against the backdrop of a sharp rise in the entire sector. The global volume of commissioned battery energy storage systems (BESS) grew by about 51% in 2025, reaching approximately 315 GWh.

Deliveries of battery cells for stationary systems nearly doubled and exceeded 600 GWh. The main driver of this growth is China: in December 2025 alone, the country commissioned about 65 GWh of large-scale battery systems – more than the US deployed in the entire year.

Vertical integration as a BYD weapon

BYD's rapid climb to the leadership position is linked to a model of deep vertical integration. The company produces its own "Blade" battery cells based on lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP), which gives it a price advantage difficult for pure system integrators and assemblers to match.

In September 2025, BYD introduced the "HaoHan" storage system with a capacity of 14.5 MWh in a single unit – nearly three times more than the "Tesla Megapack". It uses a 2710 Ah capacity "Blade" cell, which is about four to eight times higher than the typical industry standard.

Tesla, for its part, purchases cells for the "Megapack" from "CATL", from BYD itself, and in the future from another major manufacturer as part of a $4.3 billion supply contract that is set to take effect in 2027. The company is building a mega-factory in Houston with a target capacity of 50 GWh per year by the end of 2026, and also invested an additional $250 million in battery cell production at the factory near Berlin.

A structural shift in the market

According to Benchmark, the advantage of vertically integrated cell and system manufacturers as a whole has begun to decline with the falling cost of batteries and the expansion of the pool of cell suppliers. The share of "pure" integrators, such as "Sungrow" and "Hyper Strong", rose from about 20% in 2023 to about 30% in the first half of 2025.

BYD, however, is moving against this trend, combining scale and strict cost control with aggressive product launches – such as "HaoHan" – and large contracts, including a project to deploy 12.5 GWh of storage systems in Saudi Arabia.

Tesla's energy division also recorded a record year: revenue from energy storage systems reached $12.8 billion in 2025. Whether the company will be able to maintain this momentum and close the gap depends largely on how quickly it scales its own cell production – while its main competitor already controls the production of batteries, storage systems, and electric vehicles under one roof.