Battery Storage Hits Coal Parity; China Holds 64% of the Market; US and China Own 90% of AI Compute

Investment Implications

Battery Storage Now Rivals Coal on Price. China Built 64% of It.

Battery energy storage LCOE has fallen to less than half its 2020 level, drawing nearly even with coal-fired power at $77/MWh—and that turns storage from a supporting role into an asset that competes head-to-head with generation. At the same time, China held 64% of the market in 2025 and its output ran past global installations into oversupply, so investors in storage assets and South Korea's battery makers alike now have to weigh two pressures at once: price competition and share erosion.

As of 2025, the LCOE of battery energy storage has dropped to less than half its 2020 level of $185/MWh, bringing storage costs to roughly the same level as coal-fired power at $77/MWh. Once costs converge with those of a generation source, storage stops being an accessory that merely backs up renewables and becomes an asset that competes directly, on price, with generation itself.

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That same year, China's share of the battery energy storage market climbed from under 50% in 2020 to 64%, and in 2025 its output outran global installations, tipping the market into oversupply. Costs converging with generation lifts demand for storage—but when as much as 64% of the supply to meet that demand sits in a single country and production runs ahead of installation, price competition and share erosion advance together.

The fact that storage has gotten cheap enough to compete with generation costs is favorable for the demand side of storage equipment—but the fact that much of that price decline comes out of China's oversupply works against whoever is making and selling the cells. This is a spot where the same number reads in opposite directions for the capital that operates and orders the equipment and the capital that manufactures the cells.

What's already in today's price, and what isn't

Energy storage equipment and system operators — The fact that storage costs have fallen to coal levels is already getting priced in, through the economics of deploying the equipment.
Battery cell manufacturing — China's 64% share and the oversupply from output running past installations are added downward pressure on prices; the margin erosion for non-Chinese makers may not yet be fully reflected.
Renewables paired with storage — The implication that cheaper storage lowers the intermittency cost of renewables is being priced into generation costs only slowly.

Key Developments

Technology

Battery Energy Storage Costs Fall to Parity With Coal-Fired Power

As of 2025, the LCOE of battery energy storage has fallen to less than half its 2020 level of $185/MWh, reaching roughly parity with coal-fired power at $77/MWh. Storage costs have effectively dropped into the range where they go head-to-head with generation costs. (Source: Nikkei Asia)

Data Center NAND Demand Projected to Grow 46% a Year

The NAND flash memory market is projected to grow at an annual average of 22% from 2025 to 2028, with data center NAND expected to grow 46% (per a TechInsights forecast). The data center segment is running markedly faster than the overall market. (Source: Nikkei Asia)

The US and China Hold 90% of the World's AI Computing Infrastructure

With the EU relying on non-EU countries for more than 80% of its technology and more than 70% of its cloud computing, the US and China together hold roughly 90% of the world's AI computing infrastructure (per the European Parliament, the European Commission, and Epoch AI). (Source: Fortune)

Qualcomm Develops 40-Plus AI Wearables Aimed at Life After the Smartphone

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said the company is developing more than 40 AI wearable devices—including jewelry, earbuds, pins, and watches—and unveiled the Snapdragon Reality Elite platform for mixed-reality glasses and the START toolkit for smart glasses. (Source: TechCrunch)

FC-BGA Substrate Market Seen Growing 10.6% a Year on AI Accelerator Demand

Driven by demand for AI accelerators, CPUs, and GPUs, the global market for FC-BGA (flip-chip ball grid array) semiconductor substrates is expected to grow at an annual average of 10.6%, expanding from USD 5.42 billion in 2025 to USD 9.55 billion by 2032. (Source: Yonhap News)

SpaceX Plans $2.8B More in Gas Turbines to Power AI Data Centers

SpaceX (xAI's parent) said in its filing that it plans to buy an additional USD 2.8 billion worth of gas turbines over the next three years to power AI data centers, of which at least USD 2 billion is for mobile gas turbines. (Source: TechCrunch)

Economy

China Takes 64% of the Battery Energy Storage Market in 2025, Entering Oversupply

China's share of the battery energy storage market reached 64% in 2025, a sharp rise from under 50% in 2020, and its 2025 battery output exceeded global installations, creating oversupply. (Source: Nikkei Asia)

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Population Falls 47% Over a Century, Listed as 'Vulnerable'

The global loggerhead sea turtle population has fallen 47% over the past three generations (about 100 years), earning the species a 'Vulnerable' listing on the IUCN Red List. (Source: Mongabay)

South Korea's Cosmetics Exports Hit a Record $11.4B; the US Is the Top Market for the First Time

South Korea's cosmetics exports hit a record USD 11.4 billion in 2025 (after first crossing USD 10 billion in 2024). The US, at USD 2.2 billion, became the top export market for the first time, overtaking China, while exports to Europe surged 60% year over year (USD 820 million through April). (Source: Yonhap News)

Two Solar Farms Totaling 390 MW Advance in Kansas

Near Wichita, Kansas, two large solar farms totaling 390 MW—the 260 MW Galena and the 130 MW Branch Line—are advancing by converting about 2,800 acres of farmland, with final county-commission approval underway. (Source: Kansascity)

Global Energy Efficiency Improving Just 1.3% a Year, Below Half the 2030 Target

According to the IEA, the global annual rate of energy efficiency improvement has averaged just 1.3% since 2019—not even half the 2030 target of 4%. (Source: OilPrice)

Central Banks Buy 1,000 Tonnes of Gold a Year, Double the Previous Decade's Average

According to the World Gold Council's (WGC) annual survey, central banks have bought an average of 1,000 tonnes of gold a year over the past four years—double the average of the previous decade—and 90% of the central banks surveyed expect global gold holdings to rise over the next year. (Source: CNBC)

Central Banks Accelerate Gold Repatriation; 9% Report Raising Domestic Storage

In the WGC survey, 9% of responding central banks said they had increased domestic gold storage over the past 12 months (up from 5% a year earlier), as central banks—alert to the risk of overseas storage since the freezing of Russian assets—accelerate the repatriation of their gold. (Source: CNBC)

Politics

Australia's Shift to Fixed Grid Charges Surfaces a Regulatory Clash

Australia's energy minister, Chris Bowen, came out against a shift to fixed grid-connection charges (the Australian Energy Market Commission's final proposal), bringing to the surface a regulatory clash over concerns that the move would undercut the economics of renewable-energy investment for 430,000 battery-owning households. (Source: Theage)

European Commission's Tech Sovereignty Package Targets €422B Over 10 Years

On June 3, 2026, the European Commission unveiled the European Technological Sovereignty Package, setting a target of EUR 422 billion (USD 490 billion) in investment over 10 years across semiconductors, cloud, AI, and open source. It includes Chips Act 2.0 and the Cloud and AI Development Act (which aims to triple EU data center capacity within five to seven years). (Source: Fortune)

UK's CMA Orders Google to Add Search-Ranking Transparency and Data Portability

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued rules requiring Google to strengthen transparency around how it ranks search results, apply objective criteria, and allow portability of search data. Google must comply with the fair-ranking requirements within six months and the data-portability requirements within three months. (Source: Al Jazeera)

Environment

India Moves to Cut Steel Carbon Emissions to About 2 tCO2/t by 2035

India's government has drafted a policy to cut carbon emissions from steel production from the current 2.65 tCO2/t (per ton of finished steel) to about 2 tCO2/t around 2035. (Source: Economic Times India)

Society

Share of US Couples Both Working Full Time Rises to 52% in 2025

The share of US couples in which both spouses work full time rose to 52% in 2025, up steadily from 46% a decade earlier and 31% in 1975 (per a Pew Research Center analysis). (Source: Pew Research Center)

Low-Income Parents Are Six Times as Likely to Fear Lost Wages From a Care Gap

52% of low-income working parents in the US said they are 'very worried' about losing wages when a sudden gap in care arises—more than six times the share of high-income parents (8%). It's a structural marker of inequality in workplace benefits across income levels. (Source: Pew Research Center)

US Cancer Death Rate Falls 34%, but Income and Urban-Rural Gaps Widen

The US cancer death rate fell 34% from 1991 to 2022, preventing 4.5 million deaths—but inequality across urban-rural and income lines deepened, with the top 10% by income seeing improvement seven times that of the bottom 10%. In 458 rural counties, the cancer death rate actually rose. (Source: Theconversation)

Vietnam's Medical Tourism Industry Seen Growing to $4B by 2033

Vietnam's medical tourism industry is projected to grow from USD 700 million in 2024 to USD 4 billion in 2033 (per Vietnam's Ministry of Health). (Source: Fortune)

Canada's Temporary Residents Fall 15% From Their Peak Amid Visa Cuts

Canada's non-permanent residents (temporary residents) peaked at 3.15 million in October 2024 and fell 15% to 2.67 million by early 2026, the result of the Carney government's policy to cut visas. (Source: Al Jazeera)

In Parts of Asia, Cybercrime Makes Up About a Third of All Crime

According to Interpol's Asia-Pacific cyberthreat assessment, cybercrime accounts for about a third of all crime in some Asian countries, and more than half of the 18 responding Interpol member states reported a cybercrime share above 30%. (Source: South China Morning Post)

Hong Kong Teachers Required to Complete at Least 30 Hours of Digital Training Every Three Years

Under a new blueprint to expand the use of technology in schools, Hong Kong teachers must complete at least 30 hours of digital training every three years. (Source: South China Morning Post)