A new partnership between renewable investor Excelsior Energy Capital and battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution Vertech highlights the U.S. energy storage industry’s push to prioritize a domestic supply chain.
The companies entered a multiyear agreement that will provide 7.5 GWh of fully-integrated lithium-ion energy storage from LG Energy Solution’s energy-storage division, LG Energy Solution Vertech for Excelsior’s standalone and hybrid energy storage projects in the U.S.
Notably, the companies report that the projects will meet the domestic content requirements U.S. and slated to start delivery in April 2026.
The global ESS market is on the cusp of a remarkable expansion, driven by a push for innovative, sustainable energy policies. Especially for the North American ESS market, the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie predicts it will grow to 103 GWh in 2030 from just 12 GWh in 2022.
The energy storage projects will use LG Energy’s containerized lithium-ion battery systems, which will be equipped with LFP long cells that are designed to optimize energy efficiency and enhance safety. A competitive edge in LFP technology is one of LG Energy’s four strategies to expand its business in the U.S. market, the company announced in September.
In October, LG Energy said it would start ESS battery production in the U.S. so the company could “maximize the benefits from policies supporting local manufacturing.”
LG Energy announced it was upping its $1.2 Queen Creek investment to $3.2 billion, as well as a $2.3 billion investment to build a second facility in Arizona that will manufacture LFP pouch-type batteries for energy storage systems (ESS). According to LG Energy, the second facility will be the first ESS-exclusive battery production facility in the world.
LG Energy Solution is ranked the second most financially stable battery energy storage system producers, according to Sinovoltaic’s Energy Storage Manufacturers Ranking 2024 report, which ranked 55 global manufacturers using a so-called Altmann Z-score.
The new 7.5 GWh project’s partnership with LG Energy is expected to Excelsior from trade-related uncertainties and supply-chain risk, and provides financial assurances due to the domestic content adder.
Excelsior has a history of strategically averting risks in the global supply chain and tariffs by partnering with manufacturers in the U.S. and North America. Partnering with these companies also offers the renewable energy investor financial assurances for projects that qualify for the U.S. tax credit adder. In April, the company secured a 2 GW long-term module supply deal with Heliene, a with U.S.- and Canadian-based solar-module manufacturer.
The batteries will support Excelsior’s clean-energy development initiatives throughout the U.S., particularly in locations poised for load growth and increased demand for reliable clean energy, Excelsior said.
Excelsior’s portfolio also includes:
Four standalone energy-storage projects, a partnership with Regis Energy Partners,
16.5 MW community solar project in Minnesota, a partnership with Nokomis
$150 million financing partnership with Renewable America for the development and construction of 100 MW of new solar plus storage distributed energy resources,
$1.3 billion long-term power purchase agreement for Faraday Solar, a 682.5 MW solar facility in Utah
Financing the Climate Pledge Arena’s 1.2 MW onsite solar arrays in Seattle
A joint venture with Unico Solar Investors for four community solar gardens in the Denver metro area, which total 8 MW of capacity, a partnership with Namasté Solar.
