Growth Opportunities in the Commercial & Industrial Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Industry

Growth Opportunities in the Commercial & Industrial Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Industry


Solar-plus-storage, Charging Sites, and New Service Models Propel Market Growth

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) have rapidly become the fastest-growing clean energy technology driven by the growth of wind and solar and the need for grid flexibility.

While commercial and industrial (C&I) BESS installations have traditionally lagged behind grid-scale and residential deployments, the sector holds considerable opportunity, especially in the present context of increasing electrification and decreasing battery costs. In 2023, the market was estimated at $3.18 billion, with newly installed capacity reaching 2.36 GW/4.86 GWh. Frost & Sullivan forecasts the global C&I BESS market to grow to $10.88 billion by 2030, more than triple its size today, and reach $21.64 billion by 2035. BESS's annual power capacity will register a CAGR of 20.1% from 2023 to 2035, achieving 122.97 GW of cumulative capacity.

The business case for C&I BESS typically requires a combination of applications to drive cost savings and revenues. This highlights a demand for advanced software and controls for co-optimization across applications, typically peak shaving, load shifting, RE self-consumption, and backup. In more advanced energy markets, the possibility of enrolling C&I BESS in DR programs or VPPs or providing grid services through aggregators further improves the business case, expediting the adoption of batteries and market growth.

This study provides a regional-level forecast and analysis of how C&I BESS capacity and investments will evolve by 2035. It discusses the main drivers and trends in the battery value chain, technology, business models, and applications. In addition, it highlights growth opportunities and action points for industry participants to reap the benefits of this developing market.


  • Strategic Imperatives
    • Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?
    • The Strategic Imperative 8TM
    • The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Grid-scale BESS Industry
    • Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline EngineTM
  • Growth Opportunity Analysis
    • Scope of Analysis
    • Regional Segmentation
    • Key Findings
  • Trend Analysis
    • Key Trends Shaping the C&I Battery Energy Storage Industry
    • Trend #1: AI Revolutionizing the BESS Value Chain
    • Trend #2: Carrots and Sticks to Foster Self-consumption with Batteries
    • Trend #3: C&I Batteries to Support Electromobility
    • Trend #4: The Perfect Match: Solar-plus-storage and EV Charging
    • Trend #5: VPPs to Unlock Extra Value from BTM Storage
    • Trend #6: Higher Transparency and ESG Accountability for Batteries
    • Trend #7: Increasing Demand for C&I BESS Optimization
    • Trend #8: BESS Design Improvements
  • Companies to Action
    • C&I BESS Ownership Models
    • C&I BESS Value Chain
    • Major C&I BESS Manufacturers
  • Growth Opportunity Analysis
    • Key Applications for C&I BESS
    • Growth Metrics
    • Growth Drivers
    • Growth Driver Analysis: Emissions Reduction Commitments
    • Growth Driver Analysis: Battery Production Capacity Expansion
    • Growth Driver Analysis: Cost Declines
    • Growth Driver Analysis: Supportive Policies, Incentives, and Market Rules
    • Growth Driver Analysis: Expansion of C&I Solar PV
    • Growth Restraints
    • Forecast Considerations
    • Cumulative Power Capacity Growth
    • Cumulative Power Capacity Forecast
    • Annual Power Capacity Forecast
    • Annual Energy Capacity Forecast
    • Annual Energy Capacity Forecast by Region
      • Table C&I BESS: Annual Energy Capacity Additions, Global, 2020.2035
    • CAPEX Forecast
    • TOP 10 C&I BESS Countries and Applications
    • Capacity Forecast Analysis
    • Pricing Trends and Forecast Analysis
  • Regional Analysis
    • Regional Analysis—Europe
      • Table C&I BESS: Annual Additions, Selected Countries, Europe, 2020-2035
    • Regional Analysis—North America
    • Regional Analysis—China
    • Regional Analysis—ANZ & Pacific
    • Regional Analysis—India & South Asia
    • Regional Analysis—East Asia
      • Table C&I BESS: Annual Additions, East Asia, 2020-2035
    • Regional Analysis—Latin America
      • Table C&I BESS: Annual Additions, Latin America, 2020-2035
    • Regional Analysis—Middle East & North Africa
      • Table C&I BESS: Annual Additions, Middle East & North Africa, 2020-2035
    • Regional Analysis—Sub-Saharan Africa
      • Table C&I BESS: Annual Additions, Sub-Saharan Africa, 2020-2035
    • Regional Analysis—ASEAN
      • Table C&I BESS: Annual Additions, ASEAN, 2020-2035
    • Regional Analysis—Russia & CIS
  • Growth Opportunity Universe
    • Growth Opportunity 1: Solar-plus-storage Retrofits
    • Growth Opportunity 2: C&I BESS to Fuel Electric Transportation
    • Growth Opportunity 3: Energy Storage-as-a-Service
    • Growth Opportunity 4: BESS for Temporary Power Rentals
    • Growth Opportunity 5: One-stop Shop for C&I BESS

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