China’s power reforms and the global data centre buildout are catalyzing a significant battery boom by reshaping how electricity is produced, stored and consumed. As governments and companies race to meet surging energy demand while cutting emissions, batteries are emerging as the critical technology that can reconcile intermittent renewables with round-the-clock digital infrastructure. The 21-year deal that TotalEnergies has secured to power Google data centres in Malaysia underscores how international tech giants are locking in long-term, sustainable power solutions that depend on large-scale storage.
China’s Power Reforms Spark Energy Transition
China is overhauling its electricity system to prioritize renewables and grid stability, a shift that marks a clear departure from its traditional reliance on coal. According to an analysis of China’s power reforms and the global data centre buildout, policymakers are redesigning market rules so that low-carbon generation and flexible resources such as batteries are rewarded for their ability to balance supply and demand. This restructuring is intended to align the power sector with national carbon goals, which require a rapid increase in solar and wind capacity while keeping the grid reliable for industrial users and fast-growing digital services.
These reforms are also changing the economics of storage by explicitly incentivizing battery deployment to manage the variability of renewable energy. New power projects are being pushed to integrate higher levels of battery storage so they can smooth out fluctuations in output and provide firm capacity during peak demand. For developers, that requirement is reshaping project design and procurement, while for Chinese manufacturers it is accelerating a domestic manufacturing scale-up that feeds both local installations and export markets, tightening the link between policy decisions in Beijing and battery availability worldwide.
Global Data Centre Buildout Accelerates Demand
At the same time, the global data centre buildout is driving exponential growth in electricity consumption, with hyperscale facilities projected to draw power on a scale comparable to entire countries by the end of the decade. The same analysis of China’s power reforms and the global data centre buildout notes that artificial intelligence workloads and cloud computing are pushing operators to secure vast, dedicated power supplies that can run continuously. This surge is forcing utilities and regulators to confront the strain on existing grids, particularly in urban hubs where transmission capacity is already tight and new connections can take years to approve.
In response, investment is shifting toward battery-backed uninterruptible power supplies that can shield data centres from outages and grid instability. Operators are increasingly looking at off-grid or near-grid solutions that combine on-site generation with large battery systems, allowing them to bypass congested substations and maintain service even when local networks are stressed. The stakes are high for cloud providers, financial platforms and AI developers that depend on uninterrupted computing, and the move toward battery-heavy designs is turning energy storage from a niche backup option into a core element of digital infrastructure planning.
TotalEnergies Secures Landmark Deal with Google
The strategic importance of storage is evident in the way TotalEnergies has structured its long-term agreement with Google in Southeast Asia. Under a landmark arrangement described in detail when TotalEnergies wins 21-year deal to power Google data centres in Malaysia, the French energy company will supply renewable electricity to support Google’s regional data infrastructure for more than two decades. The deal is designed to match Google’s rapidly growing computing needs with a dedicated pipeline of low-carbon power, signaling that hyperscale operators are willing to commit to very long contracts if they can secure reliable, clean energy at scale.
Crucially, the project in Malaysia is built around a blend of solar generation and battery storage that aims to deliver 24/7 reliability rather than intermittent green power. By pairing large photovoltaic capacity with substantial storage, TotalEnergies is moving away from prior fossil-fuel reliant models and toward a configuration that can keep Google’s data centres running through cloudy periods, evening peaks and grid disturbances. For both companies, the structure sets a benchmark for tech-energy partnerships, showing how renewables and batteries can be combined to meet strict uptime requirements while advancing corporate climate commitments and regional decarbonization goals.
Battery Boom Emerges as Key Beneficiary
The convergence of China’s power reforms and the global data centre expansion is now feeding directly into a battery boom, with production ramping up to meet gigawatt-scale storage requirements. The analysis of China’s power reforms, global data centre buildout and the resulting battery boom describes how policy-driven demand at home and infrastructure projects abroad are combining to create a powerful pull for new capacity. Large-scale storage is no longer limited to pilot projects or grid experiments, but is being written into the core design of power plants, industrial parks and digital campuses, which in turn encourages manufacturers to invest in bigger factories and more efficient production lines.
Stakeholders across the value chain are feeling the impact. Chinese battery makers are seeing boosted exports as they supply systems for overseas projects, including those in Southeast Asia that mirror the structure of the Malaysian deal with Google. At the same time, scaled output is contributing to a drop in battery prices, which makes it more cost-effective for data centres and utilities to deploy storage in high-demand sectors. That price shift reinforces the cycle of adoption, as cheaper batteries make it easier for policymakers to mandate storage in new projects and for corporate buyers to justify long-term contracts that hinge on reliable, low-carbon power.
