BRAZIL PREPARES FOR A BATTERY BOOM

Brazil is expected to hold its first large-scale battery power auction in April, and Chinese companies.

Which have already invested heavily in the country’s power sector  are seen as leading candidates, potentially competing with

names such as Tesla and Petrobras.

The auction represents another opportunity for the expansion of Chinese companies in Brazil. Between 2007 and 2024, power-sector projects accounted for 45% of Chinese investments in Latin America’s largest economy, totaling US$35 billion, according to the Brazil-China Business Council (CEBC).

According to BloombergNEF, other Latin American countries have already begun contracting or building utility-scale energy storage projects. Chile was one of the first to adopt the technology and plans to significantly expand its battery capacity over the next five years. Argentina awarded 667 megawatts in its first storage auction last September, with operations expected to begin by 2027.

Mexico’s state-owned power company announced at least 2.2 gigawatts of capacity in its five-year expansion plan.

Source: Bloomberg