While lithium-ion remains dominant, pressure is building for longer-duration storage, safer chemistries and more resilient supply chains in the face of AI-driven load growth, data center demand, wildfire risks and tightening domestic content rules. . The energy storage industry walked a bumpy road in 2025, but eyes are turning toward 2026's tech stack. Advances in solid-state, sodium-ion, and flow batteries promise higher energy densities, faster charging, and longer lifespans, enabling electric vehicles to travel farther, microgrids to. . For the first time in over a decade, the battery sector had to stand on its own fundamentals: cost discipline, operational efficiency, safety performance, and real market demand.