With the Energy Storage Awards 2026 entry deadline less than two months away, we speak to four judges to hear what they are looking for from successful entrants.
The fourth annual staging of the industry’s most prestigious awards ceremony takes place at the Hilton London Metropole this November. A total of 21 trophies for winners and highly commended awards for runners-up is up for grabs across six categories.
From products and technology and innovation to financial and commercial, project development, industry, individual, and leadership categories, there are awards spanning a broad spectrum of solutions and service providers.
Entries can be submitted up until 4 September 2026, ahead of the ceremony on 19 November.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
‘Deliverable, bankable and useful to the system’
“I’m looking forward to seeing entries that combine innovation with real discipline and pragmatic approach,” says Roberto Castiglioni, awards judge and co-founder and CEO of Ikigai Group.
“The market has moved beyond headline capacity and big claims. What matters now is whether a project or a team can show a credible path to delivery, a clear commercial logic, good risk allocation and a real understanding of how storage creates value in power markets, especially on a merchant basis.”
Castiglioni has been involved in BESS since the UK’s first enhanced frequency response (EFR) auction that kicked off the market in 2016. Ikigai is now developing around 2.8GW of projects in Italy while also acting as an advisor on bankability and commercial strategy.
There are four Project Development category awards this year: Grid-scale Standalone Energy Storage Project of the Year, Grid-scale Co-located or Hybrid Energy Storage Project of the Year, Distributed Energy Storage Project of the Year and Best Overall European Energy Storage Project.
A good project, Castiglioni says, is more than “just a good technical idea,” and needs to be deliverable, bankable and useful to the system.
“In BESS, that means getting a lot of things right at the same time: location, grid, technology, planning, revenue strategy, route to market, contracts and execution. The best projects and companies are the ones that can turn complexity into something investors, lenders, offtakers, and the wider market can trust.”
‘Most active year for energy storage yet’
Sarah Montgomery, co-founder and CEO of Infyos, a renewable energy supply chain due diligence and procurement platform, says that this year has been the most active yet for energy storage across Europe.
Montgomery says she is interested in seeing how energy storage companies are addressing bottlenecks and business strategy questions that impact the whole industry.
“As pipelines keep growing, a bankable route to market is getting harder to find, between regulation, grid constraints, supply chains and everything else developers are having to navigate,” Sarah Montgomery says.
“For me, the difference between a solid project and an industry-leading one in today’s market comes down to the teams finding smarter ways around the problems everyone’s up against,” she says.
That could include “new offtake and funding structures, creative routes past connection bottlenecks, or getting less proven technologies commercialised and deployed,” Montgomery says, adding that “this is the kind of ambition I’ll be looking for in this year’s entries.”
‘I want to see the breadth of the sector reflected’
That theme of overcoming challenges is taken up by fellow judge Olly Frankland, lead at UK industry group Electricity Storage Network.
“The best entrants are those that have innovated and learned fast in an industry that is rapidly evolving and expanding at an unprecedented rate,” Frankland tells Energy-Storage.news.
“I’m looking for an approach that focuses on technical rigour, that holds up in challenging operating conditions, a commercial model resilient to Great Britain’s (GB’s) volatile revenue stack, and a genuine contribution to grid security and decarbonisation.”
Frankland says that he wants to see “the breadth of the sector reflected,” which includes smaller and more novel entries alongside the largest transmission-connected BESS projects. These novel entries could include long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects and technologies, co-located assets, as well as companies solving “unglamorous but critical problems like connections, planning, community engagement or route-to-market (RTM),” he says.
‘Delighted to be judging’
“I hope to see something new!” says Anna Darmani, director of energy storage EMEA region at market research and analysis group Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.
The awards are an opportunity for the judges, too, to learn about new ideas, projects and companies, Darmani says, including the justifications and differentiation entrants offer as to why they consider their products or projects to be among the industry’s best.
Yet there will be different ways to assess an entry, with some making their impact felt through scale, others by innovation and others by their commitment to sustainability, Darmani says.
Olly Frankland notes that as a judge, he is hoping to see entries that provide “clear data and lessons learned.”
“Given how fast the policy and market landscape has shifted this year, I’ll be paying close attention to how entrants have adapted.”
It’s a learning experience for sure, but also an enjoyable one that will conclude with a night of celebration.
“Storage and the teams behind the projects rarely get the recognition they deserve for helping keep the grid secure and affordable for consumers,” Frankland says, adding that he wants to help “shine a light on those leading the sector and delivering projects.”
Sarah Montgomery says she is “delighted to be judging” the awards, and “looking forward to celebrating the projects and the teams behind them.”
“I’m pleased to be judging because energy storage has been a passion of mine for the last ten years and is now one of the key pieces of the energy transition,” Roberto Castiglioni says.
This year’s judges are:
- Bruce Huber, CEO, Alexa Capital
- Louise Dalton, partner, CMS
- Poojah Shah, senior consultant, DNV
- Olly Frankland, lead, Electricity Storage Network
- Patrick Clerens, secretary general, Energy Storage Europe
- Andy Colthorpe, editor, Energy-Storage.news
- Robin Redfern, partner, Everoze
- Daniel Sherlock-Burke, director of asset management, Gore Street Capital
- Roberto Castiglioni, CEO and co-founder, Ikigai Group
- Marek Kubik, board advisor, Independent
- Sarah Montgomery, CEO and co-founder, Infyos
- Tomas Garcia, senior director, JLL – Jones Lang LaSalle
- Oghosa Erhahon, policy & markets manager, Long Duration Energy Storage Council
- Dr Robyn Lucas, head of GB, Modo Energy
- Geoff Hoffheinz, chief engineer & managing director, Nuveen Infrastructure Clean Energy
- Aaroh Kharaya, director of engineering, Primergy Solar
- Laurent Segaland, co-host, Redefining Energy
- Swetha Sundaram, director of BESS project design, RWE Clean Energy
- Anna Darmani, director energy storage EMEA, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables
Visit the Energy Storage Awards 2026 website for more details and to enter.
