What is driving and shaping European BESS project financing and M&A this year?

After a quiet period, M&A in the UK’s large-scale BESS market has picked up with transactions from CIP, Fidra Energy, Elements Green, Gresham House and Eelpower in the past fortnight.

Managers of the UK’s largest BESS owner-operator Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) discussed recent investment news and future strategy this week. 

The UK’s NESO has cleared 150GW of BESS from its grid connection queues, according to figures from BloombergNEF.

What are the system needs that LDES is going to solve, and what technologies are most appropriate for those applications?

We catch up with James Mills, managing director of UK BESS investor Adaptogen Capital, about UK market dynamics, its expansion into Europe, and BESS capex in 2026 and beyond.

There’s been progress on several large-scale BESS projects in the UK, with Matrix Renewables securing financing for its Eccles project and BW ESS enlisting EDF to optimise its Hams Hall one; plus smaller announcements.

How can energy storage capitalise on energy price volatility in European markets, and how do investors need to think about future opportunities and challenges? An expert panel at the Energy Storage Summit 2026 in London in February dived into the topic.

How much long-duration energy storage (LDES) does the UK system need, is the government’s cap-and-floor the right way to procure it, and what does the long-term picture look like?

Over 1.4GW/3.4GWh of grid-scale BESS came online in Europe, likely its best month ever, accounting for almost a fifth of global figures.