Group14 Technologies, who are building a battery manufacturing plant in Moses Lake, WA, is delaying the start of production to early 2026. Contributing factors of this delay include tariff tensions and uncertain U.S. policy, clouding the outlook for clean energy manufacturing.
Despite the delay, the company remains optimistic about long-term customer demand and a potentially huge new market as data centers continue to look for power solutions. As load growth from data centers and edge computing continues to escalate, the conversation has turned to providing enough power without straining the grid. Already, utilities are struggling to reconcile demand with purchased power, and the availability of electricity is expected to hamper the growth of data centers and stress backup power systems. To overcome this major pain point, the industry is turning to silicon batteries to unlock the true scope of the gargantuan AI market.
There are several factors working in favor of Group14 and providing hope. Data centers adding batteries for rapidly available power when energy use spikes. In the U.S. alone, utility-scale battery storage capacity is anticipated to double this year. While EV adoption is projected to slow, it’s still on the rise- with nearly 22 million passenger EVs to be sold this year. Group14 has also increased its slate of customers from 110 to 150 over the last few months.
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