By Roger Miksad, President & Executive Director of Battery Council International
Artificial intelligence is dramatically reshaping our economy and national competitiveness. Policymakers must confront a critical question: How can America’s energy infrastructure evolve to support this high-tech transformation?
Achieving AI’s potential will require massive investments in power generation and distribution, and changes to how we deliver that power. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, power demand driven by AI in the U.S. could increase tenfold by 2030, with some projections suggesting AI data centers will consume 12% to 20% of all energy in the United States by 2028.
This megatrend will strain the nation’s aging energy grid, alter electricity price dynamics, and increase the risk of power disruptions.
At Battery Council International (BCI), we strongly believe that batteries are a critical component of infrastructure deployments that will ensure new technologies can integrate smoothly into our existing grid without disruption. BCI is currently working with our members to support this evolution. While there is great promise to emerging artificial intelligence technologies, there are also clear challenges ahead.
The battery industry stands ready as a partner for both industry and local communities in mitigating risks and finding an effective path forward. BCI and its members are committed to helping America deploy the best battery technology to help the nation reap the full benefits of AI — without sacrificing safety or affordability in the communities that host necessary data and energy infrastructure.
Intense, cyclical peaks in energy demand driven by AI compute cycles place strains on the power grid that it was never designed to handle. Batteries are an effective tool in mitigating these risks thanks to their ability to store energy during periods of lower use, and deploy that energy — nearly instantaneously — to meet the spikes in demand driven by AI.
Modernizing energy infrastructure is a costly long-term endeavor, and power generators already experience regulatory delays in upgrading their infrastructure. Data centers will urgently require the buildout of new grid interconnections to support energy-hungry AI applications, and batteries can bridge the gap by supplementing existing infrastructure instead of requiring wholesale upgrades.
Batteries are already essential to every community across America during power outages. When grid power falters, they provide seamless backup power to cell towers, 911 call centers, hospitals, and data centers. Additionally, batteries reduce the need for on-site diesel generators to bridge energy gaps, offering a supplemental energy solution that meets concerns around emissions, noise pollution, and local water usage.
Proven energy storage technologies — particularly lead batteries, which have long delivered safety and reliability for critical infrastructure — are a necessary part of meeting the future power demands of AI.
For utilities and data center operators evaluating insurance exposure, risk profiles, and long-term operational predictability, batteries are a well-understood and highly reliable solution. Batteries are effective load-leveling tools, and have already been deployed in many other applications where companies look to store power from the grid when it is affordable and draw on that electricity during periods of elevated rates.
As we look to the immediate future of AI, we must make the most of the tools that are currently available, and the products that have a domestically secure supply chain that is independent from foreign adversaries. America will find no better solution to this challenge than lead batteries.
These essential batteries are readily available, and made in America with U.S.-sourced materials. Lead batteries have a domestic manufacturing network that is already scaled up to meet urgent demand, with domestic manufacturers powering more than 106,000 direct jobs and more than $35 billion in direct business output nationwide.
Additionally, thanks to the nearly infinite recyclability of this key battery technology, 99% of spent batteries are remade into new energy storage solutions — with the vast majority of recycling conducted at high-performing North American facilities that support onshore jobs.
BCI members have broadened the energy storage offerings they produce, and are using learnings from the lead battery ecosystem to build similarly robust domestic supply chains in support of flow batteries and sodium battery technology. These innovative solutions are also critical to supporting AI through domestic manufacturing and materials.
The industry is also researching improvements to legacy battery technology through the BCI-led Consortium for Lead Battery Leadership. This public-private partnership has brought together manufacturing leaders and U.S. National Laboratories with a clear focus on improving storage capacity and reducing costs, particularly in stationary storage applications.
With more than 120 years of proven safety, reliability, and domestic production, America’s battery industry offers immediately scalable production that does not depend on foreign adversaries. U.S. battery companies already provide power for nearly 300 million vehicles, school buses, and military vehicles through a resilient U.S. supply chain. This manufacturing success is a cornerstone of American economic strength, and deserves continued support.
As the nation moves toward an AI-driven future and global competition intensifies, BCI and its members stand ready to build on our proud legacy of providing dependable energy to American consumers and businesses. Through smart policy decisions today, we can ensure the next era of American innovation will be powered by batteries made in the USA.
Originally posted as an opinion article for the Washington Times.
