The predictions of Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) look promising for the future of lithium-ion battery producers and sustainable energy investors. BNEF expects stationary energy storage infrastructure to more than double by 2040, requiring a $622bn investment. The installation of new clean energy storage infrastructure is predicted to increase the energy storage capacity from 9GW in 2018 to roughly 1,100GW in 2040. This predicted new potential is due to an 85 per cent drop in costs for the lithium-ion batteries needed in the energy storage units. BNEF expects this price drop to continue as demand for stationary energy storage and electric vehicles increases.

This shift in market demand could have different short-term and long-term effects. BNEF expects the majority of this new infrastructure to be applied to grid developments and larger-scale clean energy production sites over the next two decades, with more specialised applications for homes and small businesses coming down the line in the long-term.

These new projects could be lucrative for emerging and established lithium-ion battery producers and stationary energy storage providers like Tesla. Early investors may also find luck in the industry of clean energy, as the falling overhead cost of lithium-ion batteries may bring pioneering entrepreneurs to the forefront of the market. Financial forecasters will likely keep a close eye on the development of this industry in the coming decades.

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