Tracking Battery Supply Chains for the Future: Exclusive Video Interview
Batteries are becoming big business and information about the value chain is critical
The turmoil in the Middle East crystallizes every country’s quest for energy security. The price of oil is still the one ring that rules them all, so to speak, given the demand of growing global economies. However, all energy sources have a part to play. In power and LNG markets, the call on gas is clear. Renewables have a role but efficiency and reliability fall short for 24/7 power needed for the industrial loads and data centers of the future. Increasingly, battery systems are the workhorses to augment grids and behind-the-meter solutions being posed to stand up data centers faster. As some key minerals supply chains reshore in the U.S, the market will require supportive mechanisms to function. The global market for batteries is large and growing.
In an exclusive interview with CEO Ian Taylor of Simba Chain, we discuss the state of battery supply chains, which are increasingly important on two fronts:
1) In critical mineral supply chain and energy security, and;
2) The growing market for batteries as backup power for AI infrastructure development, industrial loads and renewables plays.
With its origins as a DARPA-funded blockchain research project at Notre Dame, Simba Chain has evolved into a platform that combines blockchain, verifiable credentials, and graph databases to make complex supply chain data transparent. Simba Chain is positioning itself as a trusted infrastructure layer for battery traceability, one application of their approach. Their work with the DoD has translated into an approach to help firms evolve supply chain efficiency. Battery supply chains are a first visible mark, which dovetail with upcoming regulatory mandates in the EU and the US.
A clip is here and the full interview follows, initially for paid subscribers, then free in some days ahead.
The Simba Passport can track a battery’s full lifecycle — from raw materials (e.g., critical minerals) through testing, first use, second life, and resale — similar to a Carfax report for cars.
An emerging opportunity is AI-focused data centers, or AI factories. They will require large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) to handle power spikes. These batteries cost $200–300K and need replacing every 3–5 years, making Simba’s health-monitoring and potential for secondary markets highly relevant.
Full interview is below with references about battery sizes and scale in various domains, illustrating the market potential.
Here’s a quick overview of battery notables (by Claude):
Generally, 6 kWh is on the smaller end for commercial battery packs.
Typical Commercial Battery Pack Sizes
ApplicationTypical Capacity
Small commercial/light industrial5–30 kWh
Medium commercial buildings30–200 kWh
Large commercial/industrial200 kWh – several MWh
Utility-scale storage1 MWh+
How Battery Packs Are Built
Commercial battery packs are assembled in a modular, scalable way:
Cell level – Individual lithium-ion (or other chemistry) cells (e.g., 3–5 Ah each)
Module level – Cells are grouped into modules (often 1–10 kWh each)
Pack/rack level – Modules are stacked into racks or enclosures
System level – Multiple racks are combined to reach the desired capacity
So, a 6 kWh module is actually a common building block used by manufacturers like Tesla (Powerwall = 13.5 kWh), LG, BYD, and others. You’d typically string multiple 5–10 kWh modules together to build a commercial system.
6 kWh alone is more suited to small residential or light commercial use.
For true commercial applications, systems are usually built from multiple modules, often reaching 50 kWh to several MWh.
The modularity means 6 kWh units can be a component of a larger commercial pack, but they wouldn’t be used in isolation for most commercial needs.
Large-scale battery sizes in both categories:
Automotive (EV) Battery Packs
Vehicle TypeTypical Pack Size:
Economy EVs (e.g., Nissan Leaf) 40 – 62 kWh
Mid-range EVs (e.g., Tesla Model 3) 60 – 82 kWh
Long-range EVs (e.g., Tesla Model S) 95 – 100 kWh
Electric trucks/SUVs (e.g., Rivian, GMC Hummer) 135 – 212 kWh
Electric buses 200 – 600 kWh
Electric semis (e.g., Tesla Semi)~900 kWh
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Scale Typical Size
Residential (home battery) 5 – 30 kWh
Commercial/Industrial 100 kWh – 10 MWh
Utility-scale (grid storage) 10 MWh – 1+ GWh
Largest deployed systems 1 – 4+ GWh
Notable large BESS examples:
Moss Landing, CA (Vistra) — ~1.6 GWh (one of the world’s largest)
Hornsdale Power Reserve, Australia — 150 MWh (the famous Tesla “big battery”)
Edwards & Sanborn, CA — ~3.3 GWh
Key Takeaway
A large EV battery tops out around 100–200 kWh
A utility BESS can be 10,000–1,000,000x larger, ranging from MWh to GWh scale
The energy density of modern lithium-ion cells is roughly 150–300 Wh/kg at the cell level, dropping to 100–200 Wh/kg at the pack level