The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and cloud computing is driving up electricity demand from data centers and increasing demand for battery energy storage systems needed to provide reliable, uninterrupted power, according to an industry expert.
According to a global data center map published on LinkedIn by Guy Messey, a strategic adviser on data centers and hyperscalers, the number of data centers worldwide reached 12,259 as of the end of September.
The US accounted for about 40% of the world’s data centers, followed by the UK with 4.6%, Germany with 4.3%, France with 3.2% and China with 3.1%.
Data centers are facilities housing large numbers of servers and networking equipment used to store, process and make digital information accessible over the internet.
Cloud computing enables users to store and access data and software on remote servers rather than on personal devices.
Artificial intelligence, which has gained widespread popularity and adoption in recent years, refers to technologies capable of analyzing large amounts of data to perform tasks.
The rapid growth of these technologies is driving up data centers’ electricity consumption, while energy storage systems are playing a critical role in maintaining uninterrupted power supplies.
– Power grid constraints drive demand for storage
Kadem Usta, chairman of the Turksih Battery Manufacturers and Suppliers Association (PILDER), told Anadolu that the artificial intelligence and cloud computing revolution has turned data centers worldwide into enormous energy consumers.
The most significant change in the sector is the need for these facilities to operate without interruption, Usta said.
“Uninterrupted electricity is vital for these technologies, but existing power grids cannot always keep up with their massive, instantaneous power demand,” he said.
Longer grid connection times and the pressure to ensure uninterrupted operations are making Battery Energy Storage Systems essential, he added.
Usta said the unprecedented energy demand generated by AI-powered data centers has become the second-largest driver of growth in the global battery industry after the electric vehicle revolution.
“We can see the impact of this ‘second driving force’ very clearly in global production figures,” he said and added that global lithium-ion battery production, which stood at 1.05 terawatt-hours in 2023 and 1.6 terawatt-hours in 2024, surged to 2.3 terawatt-hours in 2025.
“More importantly, energy storage system (ESS) batteries now account for 20% of this enormous production capacity,” he stated.
The battery industry is no longer just a sector that powers vehicles on the road but has become a strategic manufacturing powerhouse underpinning the uninterrupted operation of the digital world, the internet and artificial intelligence, Usta said.
Battery chemistry is also a key consideration, particularly in large facilities such as data centers, where cost and fire safety are among the most critical factors, he said.
Usta said lithium iron phosphate batteries, which offer high thermal stability, accounted for 65% of global battery production last year.
“Against a backdrop in which China accounts for 86% of global battery production, or 1,980 gigawatt-hours, data centers’ insatiable demand for energy is reshaping production lines and supply chains worldwide,” he stated.
“We are entering an entirely new era in which battery production must continue to expand to keep digital data flowing,” Usta concluded.
