October 25, 2025: The outlook for the North American industrial lead battery market remains strong, with an annual growth rate of about 3% projected across motive and stationary applications through 2027, according to a recent study for Battery Council International.

Increased development of UPS in datacenters, including those supporting AI, is driving optimism in the sector, BCI said on October 17.

The forecast comes from a report on battery market trends that combines exclusive data from BCI with analysis by commodity research firm CRU.

The battery market trends report was unveiled earlier this year, but newly-released extracts from the publication reveal members predict a 3% compound annual growth rate in lead battery sales out to 2027.

Within the motive market, lithium battery share growth appears to be slowing. Industrial truck OEMs’ focus is on maintenance-free, heavy-duty use, fast charging and long cycle life.

Advanced lead batteries including AGM technology are increasingly competitive with lithium, however, according to the report.

In utilities, opportunities will be driven by larger front of the meter installations rather than smaller behind the meter (BTM) stationary energy storage applications.

However, the effectiveness of lead batteries in BTM will continue to drive demand because of comparative safety benefits and lower cost for emerging markets than some alternatives.

BCI’s excerpts from the report are online.