Trump’s battery ban puts America’s energy storage ambitions in a bind

The United States wants to double down on grid-scale energy storage. It also wants to cut China out of the equation. The problem is that right now, you largely cannot do one without the other. President Trump signed Executive Order 14420 on August 26, 2026, declaring a national emergency over foreign-manufactured equipment in the bulk-power system. The directive gives the Department of Energy authority to restrict or attach conditions to electrical equipment sourced from “covered foreign entities,” a category that points squarely at China. What the order actually does The rule targets three categories of hardware: battery energy storage systems, grid-connected inverters, and transformers. Any transaction involving these components tied to a covered foreign entity and initiated after the signing date falls under the order’s reach. The DOE has until December 24, 2026, to publish implementing rules. Until that guidance lands, developers are essentially operating in a fog, committing capital to projects without knowing exactly which components will be restricted or under what conditions. China controls roughly 80% of global lithium-ion battery supply-chain capacity, and approximately 4...