Middle East And Africa Battery Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Middle East And Africa Battery Market Trends and Insights

Declining Lithium-Ion Battery Prices

Lithium-ion pack prices slid to USD 108 per kilowatt-hour in December 2025, down from USD 139 in 2023, narrowing the cost gap with lead-acid batteries and improving total-cost-of-ownership for telecom backup and four-hour utility storage.^{[2]BloombergNEF, “Battery Pack Prices in 2025,” about.bnef.com} Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk and Hail projects set a regional record at USD 73-75 per kilowatt-hour by deploying HiTHIUM’s 1,175 Ah lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells, underscoring how volume procurement and Chinese supply-chain scale pass through to buyers. Transparent tenders in GCC states and South Africa capture these savings immediately, while import duties and forex volatility moderate benefits in Kenya and Nigeria. Egypt’s 1.1 GW Obelisk solar-plus-storage project, financed by multilateral lenders, shows that LCOE parity with natural-gas peakers is within reach in high-insolation markets.^{[3]Sam Peters, “Solar and batteries could help Egypt beat its blackouts,” CNN, cnn.com} Overall, falling pack costs reinforce the Middle East and Africa battery market’s path to scale, especially where subsidies or concessional debt further cut financing costs.

Rapid EV Adoption & GCC Electrification Targets

Saudi Arabia’s EV Green Initiative aims for 30% EV penetration in Riyadh by 2030, catalyzed by Ceer Motors and a Saudi Aramco-BYD manufacturing MoU. The United Arab Emirates targets a 20% EV share in Dubai and 10% in Abu Dhabi, with more than 740 public chargers already installed by late 2024. These mandates diversify oil economies and anchor new industrial value chains, lifting battery demand and prompting recycling investments. Qatar, Oman, and Egypt replicate the model on a smaller scale, while Morocco’s EUR 300 million sovereign investment into Gotion’s Kenitra gigafactory underpins export-oriented battery output. EV growth, therefore, pulls forward local cell production, shortens supply lines to European OEMs, and embeds the Middle East and Africa battery market in global automotive platforms.

Distributed Solar + Storage Uptake in Off-Grid Africa

Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan calls for 5 GW solar and 2.5 GW battery additions, backed by USD 3.6 billion raised so far and structured around mini-grids and solar-home-systems. Ethiopia’s DREAM program, funded by the African Development Bank, funds solar mini-grid irrigation with battery storage for 300,000 rural beneficiaries. Kenya’s World Bank-backed 100 MWh BESS due in 2026 complements geothermal and wind. These distributed models bypass transmission build-outs, delivering electricity within 18 months and unlocking productive evening loads. Affordability remains a hurdle, off-grid systems cost USD 225-400 per household versus willingness-to-pay below USD 150, but results-based financing and carbon-credit revenues close gaps. As cost curves decline, the Middle East and Africa battery market sees rising volumes from pay-as-you-go solar companies and donor-funded utilities.

Localization of Cell & Pack Gigafactories (KSA, Morocco)

Gotion High-Tech’s USD 1.3 billion first-phase gigafactory in Kenitra targets 20 GWh annual output from 2026, scaling to 100 GWh on a USD 6.5 billion budget. The project integrates cathode and anode lines, creates 17,000 jobs, and runs on dedicated wind power coupled with a 2 GWh storage plant. Saudi Arabia leverages a 2.5 GW/10 GWh tender pipeline to negotiate BYD and potential Aramco joint-ventures, embedding manufacturing and R&D within its Vision 2030 framework. Localization locks in supply security, drives down landed costs, and positions the Middle East and Africa battery market as a hedge against tariff risks in Europe and North America.

Raw-Material Supply Constraints (Li, Co)

Lithium carbonate spot prices collapsed from USD 80,000 per ton in 2022 to USD 10,000 in 2024, then rebounded to USD 11,500 in early 2025, upsetting contract negotiations and squeezing manufacturer margins. Cobalt remains 70% concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising ESG compliance costs under EU and U.S. battery rules. OEMs respond by pivoting to cobalt-free LFP chemistries, while Morocco leverages phosphate reserves for cathode precursors. Saudi Arabia and Oman explore lithium recovery from oil-field brines. Supply volatility, therefore, tempers but does not derail the Middle East and Africa battery market’s growth trajectory.

High Upfront Cost in Price-Sensitive African Markets

Per-capita GDP of USD 2,200 in Nigeria and USD 1,100 in Ethiopia limits commercial uptake beyond donor-backed or corporate use cases. Ethiopia’s National Electrification Program pegs off-grid system costs at USD 225-400 per household versus sub-USD 150 willingness-to-pay, requiring subsidy tenders. Concessional debt at 1.25% over 30 years allowed Kenya to finance its 100 MWh BESS; commercial rates above 12% would render similar projects uneconomic. Therefore, affordability remains a brake on the Middle East and Africa battery market outside sovereign-backed GCC programs.

Segment Analysis

By Battery Type: Rechargeable Cells Extend their Lead

Secondary batteries controlled 74.5% of the Middle East and Africa battery market share in 2025, reflecting soaring telecom retrofits and EV uptake. The segment is forecast to post a 15.8% CAGR through 2031, pushing the Middle East and Africa battery market size for rechargeables well above USD 12 billion by the end of the period. Rising cycle-life, declining pack costs, and growing financing options underpin penetration into UPS, mini-grid, and motive-power niches.

Primary batteries now occupy specialized roles in defense and remote sensing. Although they offer high energy density, tightening waste regulations and improving rechargeable economics erode their relative appeal. Lead-acid units lose share each year as tower-cos and C&I customers upgrade to lithium-ion, enabled by pay-as-you-save contracts. Over the forecast horizon, rechargeable penetration rises further as donor-funded electrification schemes specify minimum 2,000-cycle batteries for community systems.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Technology: Lithium-Ion Dominates, Solid-State on the Horizon

Lithium-ion variants held 34.9% of the Middle East and Africa battery market in 2025, and the segment benefits from supply-chain localization and diverse chemistries covering automotive, stationary, and motive-power needs. Within lithium-ion, LFP outperforms nickel-manganese-cobalt in stationary storage thanks to thermal stability.

Solid-state batteries rise from pilot runs to commercial output after 2027, expanding at 22.4% CAGR. Early volumes flow to premium EVs imported into GCC markets, while cost declines determine mid-2030s mass-market penetration. Flow batteries and sodium-sulfur systems remain niche, serving long-duration industrial microgrids. Emerging sodium-ion technologies could undercut lithium costs, but require demonstration of 3,000-cycle durability in desert climates before broad uptake.

By Application: Industrial Storage Surges Ahead

Automotive batteries provided 37.3% of 2025 revenue in the Middle East and Africa battery market, anchored by 34,970 EVs on UAE roads and Riyadh’s 30% penetration goal.^{[4]PwC Middle East, “UAE EV Market Update 2025,” pwc.com} Yet industrial uses, including telecom, UPS, and grid-scale storage, are projected to eclipse automotive growth with a 10.6% CAGR. The Middle East and Africa battery market size for grid-connected projects increases sharply as South Africa’s BESIPPPP and Egypt’s IPP programs clear more megawatt-hour capacity.

Portable electronics and power tools form a mature segment with modest single-digit growth. Starting-lighting-ignition demand declines as EV sales rise, but legacy vehicle fleets sustain replacement volumes through the late 2020s. All told, industrial storage becomes the revenue growth engine, while automotive underwrites manufacturing scale and technology transfer.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Saudi Arabia commanded 31.0% of the Middle East and Africa battery market in 2025, leveraging a 48 GWh-by-2030 target and a 2.5 GW/10 GWh tender pipeline valued at SAR 6.73 billion (USD 1.8 billion). BYD’s 12.5 GWh contract and Sungrow’s 7.8 GWh installed base make the kingdom the region’s largest single buyer. The United Arab Emirates follows with Abu Dhabi’s 19 GWh Masdar project and a dense charging-station network that supports the fastest regional EV per-capita uptake.

Oman’s 14.7% projected CAGR stems from a 20 GW renewables plan and green-hydrogen export ambitions needing multi-hour storage buffers. Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain proceed more cautiously, yet policy roadmaps now reference battery tenders after observing Saudi and Emirati cost declines.

North Africa’s momentum is export-driven. Morocco’s Kenitra gigafactory captures European demand under free-trade deals, while Egypt’s Vision 2030 renewables target lifts utility-scale deployments financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the African Development Bank. South Africa’s load-shedding crisis and BESIPPPP awards anchor commercial opportunity for integrators. In contrast, sub-Saharan Africa relies on donor-funded mini-grids: Nigeria’s 5 GW solar-plus-2.5 GW storage pledge, Kenya’s 400 MWh target, and Ethiopia’s DREAM program illustrate how concessional capital channels storage to energy-access projects.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase