BNEF Energy Storage Tier 1 List: Methodology
November 4, 2024
BNEF Energy Storage Tier 1 List:
Methodology
BloombergNEF has developed a tiering system for stationary energy storage
products. Based on deployment over the last two years, this system is designed
to create a transparent differentiation between the hundreds of manufacturers
on the market. This document explains the tiering criteria, as well as the
methodology’s limitations.
1. Why divide the energy storage market into tiers?
BNEF is frequently asked for a list of ‘major’ or ‘bankable’ suppliers for use in manufacturing
forecasts, preliminary competitor analysis and other internal comparisons. In industry parlance,
such firms are typically referred to as ‘tier 1’ players, but the term is seldom defined or described,
which is unhelpful for firms outside the storage industry trying to get a basic overview.
We strongly recommend that battery purchasers and banks do not use this list as a measure of
quality, but instead consult a technical due diligence firm such as DNV GL, TÜV SÜD, UL,
Intertek, Exponent, China Automotive Battery Research Institute, Eurofins Energy Storage or
Kema Laboratories. Such firms consider an array of factors, including what factory the battery
comes from and the bill of materials, to give an informed opinion on whether the system will
perform as expected.
2. Criteria
The analysis is based on BNEF’s Energy Storage Assets database, which included over 14,000
energy storage projects worldwide as of October 2024. In particular, BNEF counts the number of
projects above 10 megawatt or 10 megawatt-hours to which a supplier has provided batteries
and/or energy storage systems in the last two years.
We currently consider both cell providers and system integrators as battery manufacturers/battery
brands. This is partly due to the nature of data disclosure about which firm supplied which project;
it also reflects the fact that a technical due diligence firm would consider both the cell supplier and
the integrator (which has a strong incentive to do proper due diligence on its cell suppliers).
Brands considered must own manufacturing plants. Companies that outsource production under
brand names are not tiered, and products sold under another brand are not counted for tiering of
contract manufacturers.
Projects used primarily for backup power are not relevant to tiering, and lead-acid batteries are
excluded because they are not suitable for regular cycling. From 1Q 2025, an energy storage
brand to be listed as tier 1 must have supplied products to at least three different third-party
buyers in the last two years. We may change these criteria further. In addition, the tiering team
reserves the right to reject projects which are demonstration, not fully commercial. We may also
count multiple projects contracted in one supply deal as one project.
At present, the criterion for an energy storage brand to be listed as tier 1 is that it must have
Energy storage tiering supplied, or be firmly contracted to supply, products to six different eligible projects in the last two
team years. To be eligible, each project:
batterytier1@bloomberg.net • must be larger than 10MW or 10MWh (whichever is higher).
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BNEF Energy Storage Tier 1 List: Methodology
November 4, 2024
• must be owned or developed by companies that are not affiliated with the energy storage
provider (in other words, the purchaser of the energy storage system must be a third party).
• cannot be built to meet renewable energy project integration mandates (such as those in
place in many Chinese provinces), whether in the form of a co-located development or
through a capacity rental service contract, as these mandates do not typically place a strong
emphasis on the performance of the system.
• must use the energy storage supplier’s main technology. Firms which have multiple
technologies must meet the criteria for each separately.
All projects considered must be in the BNEF Energy Storage Assets database.
Energy storage providers that have filed for bankruptcy or a form of insolvency protection, or are
in default of major financial obligations as stated in court documents, are removed from the tier 1
list until further notice.
It is likely that these criteria will be updated as the market evolves. However, the list will continue
to be based on good data in the public domain about projects that use the company’s products.
3. Submitting data to BNEF
Market players can submit information through this template (downloads as Excel). We may
request supporting evidence for manufacturer submissions. Incorrect submissions will be
penalized.
Projects must be larger than 10MW or 10MWh and must be tracked by our database. This means
that the project location (such as street address, coordinates or other data sufficient to uniquely
identify the individual project), capacity, key participants (such as developer, owner and storage
provider), application and technology must all be in the public domain.
This classification is purely
We may require evidence for the existence of the project in the form of either a public document
a measure of industry like a press release from one of the companies involved, an article about the project published by
acceptance, and there are a recognized media firm, or a copy of the agreement with the project developer, owner or bank.
examples of quality issues The agreement with the developer, owner or bank will be kept strictly confidential and only used
or bankruptcy of tier 1 to ensure database accuracy. We reserve the right to reject any information due to lack of public
manufacturers. evidence.
This classification is purely a measure of industry acceptance, and there are many documented
examples of quality issues or bankruptcy of tier 1 manufacturers.
3.1. Tier 2 and 3
We do not publish a tier 2 or 3 list.
4. How do I access the tier list?
Please do not send us
To get a quote for a Bloomberg subscription, which includes the quarterly tier 1 list, please
confidential information for contact sales.bnef@bloomberg.net. There is no other way to legally obtain the tier 1 list. Pirate
tiering purposes except to versions released on the internet may have been doctored.
confirm data that can be The list of tier 1 manufacturers is available to BNEF’s subscribers quarterly. Note that a tier 1
published in our database. listing is not a recommendation for the company or its products.
A company may be removed from the tier 1 list in any quarter, so only the list for the most recent
quarter is valid. Press releases or claims from a company do not constitute evidence that a firm
meets BNEF’s tier 1 criteria.
No portion of this document may be reproduced, scanned into an electronic system, distributed, publicly
displayed or used as the basis of derivative works without the prior written consent of Bloomberg Finance
L.P. For more information on terms of use, please contact sales.bnef@bloomberg.net. Copyright and
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BNEF Energy Storage Tier 1 List: Methodology
November 4, 2024
5. How can manufacturers improve their ranking?
Since a tier 1 ranking is not a recommendation, we advise manufacturers against spending much
energy pursuing it. On the other hand, one of the characteristics of a tier 1 manufacturer is
transparency and good data availability.
Manufacturers can help us tier them accurately by sending us (at batterytier1@bloomberg.net)
data on the projects they have provided systems for, and the financing used to support these
projects. This data must include enough information to identify the project uniquely: project size,
location (street address or coordinates), developer or owner name, construction or financing
dates, and technology and application. This information will be published by BNEF in its
subscription database.
We strongly prefer well organized and complete information. It is not helpful to send large
amounts of incomplete or inaccurate project details, which may result in your entire submission
being rejected without notice.
Emails with data received before December 1, March 1, June 1 and September 1 will be
processed for the tier 1 list appearing in the next quarter. Data received in later emails may only
appear in the database until it is processed for the tier 1 list for the following quarter.
6. How does a manufacturer know if they will be on the next tier 1
list?
For legal compliance reasons, we cannot disclose any substantial information about upcoming
research prior to publication. Consequently, we cannot confirm whether a manufacturer will or will
not be on the tier 1 list in the next quarter until the list is published.
BNEF clients have access to the full database, so can look at the projects in the database and
count the projects themselves.
7. Appeals
The BNEF tiering team’s ruling for each quarter is final and will not be influenced by taking an
Insight subscription, visiting our offices, buying us lunch, pleading, or sending us specification
sheets, testimonials or confidential information. The only thing that will influence the decision is
on-the-record data about projects. Please read this text carefully before asking us questions
already answered here, as we receive a high volume of queries and cannot enter into detailed
correspondence. A simplified Chinese version of this document is available here. We do not take
calls or meetings to clarify methodology or anything related to tier 1. All communication will be
through batterytier1@bloomberg.net.
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displayed or used as the basis of derivative works without the prior written consent of Bloomberg Finance
L.P. For more information on terms of use, please contact sales.bnef@bloomberg.net. Copyright and
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BNEF Energy Storage Tier 1 List: Methodology
November 4, 2024
About us
Contact details
Client enquiries:
• Bloomberg Terminal: press <Help> key twice
• Email: support.bnef@bloomberg.net
Energy Storage Tiering Team batterytier1@bloomberg.net
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