Operational experience, credibility and optimisation performance are becoming key to BESS bankability, writes Jürgen Mayerhofer, CEO and co-founder of optimiser Enspired.

A flurry of BESS project news from big-name players in Western Europe in the run-up to the Energy Storage Summit next week, with Neoen, Statkraft, Zenobē and Infranode moving projects forward in Germany, Ireland, the UK and Denmark. Highlights include a 15-year toll between Drax and Zenobē, and multiple 4-hour duration systems.

Germany’s BESS market is booming but is still far behind what it is needed for its energy transition. 2026 will be a key year in this regard with several key regulatory questions potentially clarified, writes energy transition comms executive Frederik König.

A busy week of grid-scale BESS project news from Germany, with numerous development, project, optimisation and tolling partnerships announced.

Power firm Uniper has entered into a conditional supply contract with organic solid flow battery company CMBlu Energy for the delivery of at least 5GWh of its technology.

Power firm RWE is about to start building a 400MW/800MWh BESS project in Germany, among the largest in the country to reach the construction stage. In related news, Kyon Energy has connected a 282MWh project to the grid, possibly the largest in the country to reach that milestone.

Leading BESS owner-operators across Europe discuss the key trends around the financing and deployment of grid-scale projects, with the segment now the driver of continent-wide deployments according to trade body SolarPower Europe.

Bigger, longer-duration projects and more sophisticated deal structuring are driving the energy storage industry forward, but a lack of common approaches from transmission system operators (TSOs) remains a challenge.

More BESS news from across Europe, with ContourGlobal and Alpiq striking sizeable deals in Greece and France, Iberdrola putting projects into operation in Spain, and other project news in Germany, Poland, Denmark and Southeast Europe.

Germany’s four transmission system operators (TSOs) have begun procuring inertia services to help stabilise the electric grid as shares of renewable energy grow.