Lithium shortage to slow Europe's battery growth
Volatile power prices have boosted revenues, but new entrants faced with higher capex thanks to spiking lithium prices
Volatile power prices are boosting revenues for batteries in Europe, but spiking lithium prices may be slowing new investments, according to analysts. “Intraday price spreads have more than doubled over the past couple of years, driving higher energy arbitrage revenues,” says Anuoluwa Omojola, research associate for European power markets at consultancy Aurora Energy Research. “Frequency response revenues have also spiked.” As a result, a one-hour battery asset that came online in 2020 in the UK could see its payback period shorten by 2–3 years, according to Aurora’s data. “Intraday price spreads have more than doubled over the past couple of years” Omojola, Aurora "However, it is ve
Also in this section
11 November 2025
Transition policies must recognise that significant industrial demand for carbon will continue even as economies hit net zero
6 November 2025
After years of pursuing ideologically driven climate leadership, Western powers are now stepping back under mounting political pressure and rising populist opposition—prompting concern essential climate action could be sidelined
17 October 2025
The business case for CCS is strengthening as costs decline, but deployment must accelerate to align with credible net-zero scenarios
17 October 2025
The black-tie gala recognised the energy industry’s leading innovations and thought leaders from across the value chain






