Estimating Battery Manufacturing Workforce Needs Through 2035

The rapid expansion of battery manufacturing has made one question increasingly important: How many workers does a GWh of battery manufacturing require? The Volta Foundation Workforce Readiness & Development Committee presents a data-driven benchmark for battery manufacturing workforce requirements and a practical framework for estimating future labor demand, aligning workforce development with the industry’s projected growth.

Using employment and production data from representative gigafactories across North America, Europe, and Asia, the analysis establishes a benchmark of approximately 130 direct workers per GWh of annual cell production. Applying this benchmark suggests global battery manufacturing could require approximately 500,000 direct workers by 2030 and 725,000 by 2035. The findings highlight growing workforce needs and the importance of sustained investment in workforce development, despite increasing automation.

Volta Foundation was created to empower battery professionals at every stage of their career, and to accelerate the growth of the battery industry.