The fifth edition of BNEF’s ranking finds that China’s improved performance in infrastructure, paired with its resilience amid competitive market conditions, gave it the boost needed to reclaim first place from Canada.
LONDON, 13 May 2025 – China has overtaken Canada for the top spot in BloombergNEF’s Global Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Ranking, an annual assessment that rates 30 countries on their potential to build a secure, reliable and sustainable supply chain. China’s low commercial electricity prices and advancing infrastructure were primary factors in its reclaiming the top spot in 2024. While Canada remains a raw materials powerhouse and continues to offer a stable investment environment, slower progress on scaling battery manufacturing weakened its advantage.
The US joined Canada in second place, having been bolstered last year by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). However, President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the rollback of climate-related ambitions threaten to undo its progress by raising costs for US-based manufacturers, diverting investment away from the US toward other regions and reducing domestic demand.
Ellie Gomes-Callus, Metals and Mining Associate, BloombergNEF, said: “Brazil and Indonesia registered the largest gains in the fifth edition of the ranking. Growth across these emerging markets has been driven by surging demand and ambitious policy roadmaps. However, all eyes will be on the US this year, as it awaits the impact of the Trump administration’s trade policies.”
Some established markets – namely Japan and South Korea – also improved their positions in 2024, climbing further into the top 10. Like China, Japan and South Korea were early movers in the battery supply chain. This experience has enabled them to maintain – or even improve – their performance across the five categories in the ranking, despite navigating increasingly difficult market conditions. Last year, the global battery industry was marked by oversupply, shrinking profit margins and escalating trade tensions.
Meanwhile, Europe’s battery supply chain potential showed signs of regression. Of the 11 European countries in the ranking, only two – the Czech Republic and Turkey – improved, while five held their positions and four declined. In fact, the two biggest declines were European: Hungary and Finland dropped seven and six spots to 21st and 11th, respectively. Hungary’s performance across social and governance metrics slipped to become the second-last in the region while Finland was held back by its stagnant cobalt and nickel industries as well as its complicated permitting processes. Chemical giant BASF’s battery component plant in Harjavalta has been held up by permitting-related difficulties. Without renewed momentum and targeted intervention to address industrial barriers like permitting and high operational costs, the formerly promising region risks losing ground to faster-moving emerging markets.
Other key findings in the report include:
- Canada maintained strong positions in all supply chain categories but declined in battery manufacturing. Slower-than-expected demand resulted in several companies, such as E-One Moli, Ford and Umicore, hitting pause on their investments despite the government announcing additional support for a local supply chain.
- Europe’s competitiveness is slowly falling behind as the growth of battery manufacturing capacity is not as rapid as in other regions and demand scores weaken. The latter is being driven by a combination of small market sizes and market saturation. Several countries in Eastern Europe and the Nordics, respectively, were overtaken as a result.
- Battery raw material markets are facing oversupply and weaker-than-expected demand. The supply of battery raw materials has jumped despite these persistent challenges. However, trends across refined battery metal markets are more mixed compared to those in mined metals.
- The refined supply of battery raw materials remains heavily concentrated in China despite diversification efforts. Similarly, capacity additions across the battery manufacturing value chain remain centered in China, with newer players outside the APAC 1* region often facing scale-up challenges.
Notes to editors
*APAC 1 refers to China, Japan and South Korea
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