Mapping the global battery start-up landscape across the value chain: Implications for market design and industrial policy

Battery technologies are central to decarbonisation and the global energy transition, yet the distribution and roles of start-ups along the value chain remain poorly characterised. This paper maps entrepreneurial activity across the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments, with strategic implications for market design, policy, and the transformation of the battery market. This study adopts an integrated Global Value Chain and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory lens and applies a stage-resolved mapping approach. Drawing on Crunchbase data and manual verification of more than 400 identified ventures, we analyse a final sample of 144 start-ups founded between 2014 and 2024 and assign them to value chain stages and regions. We contextualise value chain and technology foci using policy measures assembled from the International Energy Agency Policies and Measures Database. The mapping shows midstream concentration in advanced materials, specialised components, and cell manufacturing, while upstream entry is limited, especially in battery-grade refining, and end-of-life activity remains nascent and fragmented. Regional differences in start-up finance, policy frameworks, and manufacturing ecosystems shape where technology transfer, localisation and scale-up occur. The study provides practical insights for policymakers and industry leaders shaping net-zero energy strategies, highlighting how to navigate and accelerate the transformation of the battery market. It highlights the importance of streamlined procedures, transparent standards, and supplier qualification, as well as finance matched to stage-specific risks and complemented by regionally tailored measures that build upstream and circular capacity. • Global mapping of 144 battery start-ups reveals clustering in mid-supply chain stages. • Global Value Chain and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem approach links governance to scaling. • Regional policy frameworks and finance mechanisms critically shape scaling outcomes. • US startups focus on materials, Europe on recycling, Asia on manufacturing. • Scale-up funding gaps hinder battery start-ups developing capital-intensive innovations.