GM Enters Energy Storage Market Dominated by Tesla

First Tesla, then Ford, and now GM — almost all major auto giants are striving to gain a share of the energy storage systems market. The reason is simple: although EV sales in the US have slowed slightly, stationary battery sales have doubled in the last two years, and this growth shows no signs of stopping. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, annual installation capacity is expected to reach 110 GWh by 2030. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports.

Kurt Kelty, GM's Vice President of Batteries and Sustainable Development, emphasized in an interview with TechCrunch that the potential of this market is extremely high. On Tuesday, the company introduced an entirely new sodium-ion battery technology aimed at capturing the core of the market. This step marks a new strategic milestone for GM in the energy storage sector.

Three main trends are driving the rapid growth of the energy storage market. The first is the expansion of data centers serving AI systems, whose energy consumption is expected to triple by the end of the decade. Additionally, sectors of the economy such as transport, manufacturing, and HVAC systems are being rapidly electrified.

For now, Tesla is the absolute leader in this market. Last year, 82 percent of the 57 GWh of installed capacity came from Tesla. The company's revenue from Megapack and Powerwall units has doubled since 2023. Most interestingly, the gross profit margin in this segment is 30 percent — twice as much as the profit from EV sales.

Despite the huge potential in the market, GM has decided not to rush. The company's first major product, sodium-ion cells, will only be ready by the end of the decade. According to Kelty, GM is working systematically on developing a family of batteries specifically tailored for this market.