Europe is no longer betting on second-life repurposing of EV batteries for stationary BESS applications, and that is not a bad thing, argues David Oudsandji, CEO of Voltfang.

Bankability & offtake and regulatory & system reform were the key talking points on the opening panel of the Battery Asset Management Summit UK & Ireland 2026 which runs today and tomorrow (13-14 October). 

Big names in the downstream battery storage market have signed up to join an initiative aimed at simplifying BESS procurement.  

Valo, the new joint venture formed as a continuation of Wärtsilä’s energy storage business, is weighing up investing in the US supply chain, including factories.   

Another edition of our BESS Industry Buzz, taking a look at what’s got industry people talking in the corridors of social media. 

Intilion has just tied up with CATL for sodium-ion BESS deployments in Europe, following Alfen’s similar move in July, while Merus Power tells us it is in the process of integrating with the OEM’s new product. 

Finland is the Nordic region’s most-talked-about market for the moment, with project deals and other battery storage development activity from local and international players.  

Electrifying low-temperature industrial heat and steam processes with renewables could reduce European Union natural gas consumption by 35 billion cubic metres-per-year, according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Infrastructure investor Actis has entered the Polish energy storage market with the acquisition of two large-scale projects from DTEK’s DRI, while R.Power and Solax have announced project updates in the country. 

BESS owner-operator Return has put its 100MW/200MWh Antares BESS in the Netherlands into commercial operation, the largest to have reached that stage in the country as far as we know.