Despite the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region being synonymous with the fossil fuel industry, several countries within the region are rapidly emerging as some of the world’s fastest-growing markets for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), as they look to decarbonise power systems.

What does the growth picture look like? 

Growth in the BESS industry across the MENA region has been concentrated primarily in a handful of countries, most notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with Egypt and Israel also seeing some activity. Among these, Saudi Arabia stands out as the key driver to the region’s BESS expansion.

In reference to Saudi Arabia’s BESS grid capacity and project pipeline, BESS and Energy Research Lead Shan Tomouk at Benchmark commented, “They went from having a pipeline of next to nothing in January 2024, to being the biggest player outside of the top five markets (China, US, UK, Australia and Chile) by June 2025.”

Saudi Arabia currently has 11.7 GWh of grid BESS operational compared to the UAE’s 9 MWh, but both have strong pipelines. Through to 2027 both countries have over 25 GWh of planned or announced projects. According to Rho Motion’s database, this makes them the largest market outside of the top five global markets.

What is driving this growth?

Renewable buildout has been a key driver to this growth. Under Saudi Vision 2030, the country has a target of reaching 50% renewable energy production by 2030. Similarly, the UAE has aims to reach 50% renewable generation capacity by 2050.

Saudi Arabia already has 10.3 GW of renewables installed and a further 41 GW announced for development by 2030. It is worth noting the speed of progress in this market is fast. For example, in July, the Ministry of Energy announced 15 GW of new renewable projects in a single round.

In addition to the buildout of renewables, systems pricing has also been a key driver. Countries such as Saudi Arabia benefit from low shipping costs from China as well as no tariffs meaning Chinese systems are comparably cheaper than when bought in North America or Europe. These prices have helped facilitate the widespread rollout of BESS in the MENA region.

More information

To understand more about how the MENA region is expanding its horizons into the energy transition see our recent special issue “Beyond Oil: The Middle East and North Africa’s Pivot to Critical Minerals and Clean Energy”.

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