When Tesla built a 100-megawatt battery in South Australia in 2017, it was the world's largest. Eight years later, Australia has become the third-largest grid battery market globally, adding 8.6 gigawatt-hours of storage in 2025 alone—a tripling from the previous year. The country now has nearly 100 grid-forming battery projects in its development pipeline.
The stakes are existential for Australia's electricity system. Coal plants that once supplied 80% of power are retiring faster than planned, with capacity projected to drop below 30% by 2026. Battery storage is filling the gap—not just storing excess solar and wind, but providing the grid stability services that spinning turbines used to deliver. The 619-megawatt-hour Supernode battery that began operations in Brisbane this week represents the next phase: mega-scale storage positioned at critical grid nodes, with plans to expand to over 3 gigawatt-hours by 2027.