January's Energy Storage News & Views
2026 is in now in full swing and in general, the mood is more upbeat than 2025 with those well-established players continuing to scale globally and corporate or PE backed scaleups seizing market expansion opportunities. That being said, growth bottlenecks caused by investment challenges in early-stage companies are clear and some positive policy / regulatory changes are causing some short term turbulence and caution in hiring patterns.
For example, in the UK we've heard of NESO reform impacts causing talent hiring and retention headaches as outlined here
One key trend I've noticed over the last couple of quarters, is an emphasis on "holistic hiring", especially in scaleups and SME clients who were partner with. The "T shape" profile is in demand as business navigate a multitude of challenges. I share more here
The Hyperion Search Cleantech Market & Talent Review
We recently published our latest Review, with a look back on key industry news, deals, talent trends and people moves (below) from Q4 2025 and a look ahead at 2026 predictions.
To access the full report, you can download from our website here
Upcoming Events
Q1 is a busy event season for Energy Storage & Grid. Here are some of the upcoming events you'll find our team at the following:
If you're attending and want to meet up and discuss your hiring plans or personal career steps, then get in touch.
Market News
December's global BESS deployments were at record levels - In December we saw a record-breaking level of BESS capacity come online (20.5GW / 71GWh globally). Of this total global amount, 92% was in China with over 18GW/65GWh (this represented 25% of the total global deployments, just in December alone).
It's safe to say that the Chinese train is one that will never be caught and it's now about how players in other regions can cooperate safely and securely with Chinese partners or how they can offer smart added-value solutions for example smart EMS/BMS, optimisation SaaS etc.
EV downturn in the US presenting new BESS opportunities - The cooling EV demand in the US is providing a lifeline for ESS, as manufacturers pivot production toward BESS. This shift helps developers navigate new 25% tariffs on Chinese batteries and strict Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules that took effect in 2026.
Highlighting this strategic pivot, Justin Johnson, COO of Arevon Energy noted: "The slowdown in EV has been the biggest lifeline for the stationary storage industry. We are seeing manufacturers that were 100% focused on automotive now knocking on our door with dedicated BESS cells."
More here
UK BESS shifting to the execution era
In the latest Market & Talent Review shared above, we share insights on the key trend of BESS shifting from development to delivery/execution. This observation is certainly true in the UK, backed up by recent analysis featured in Energy-Storage.news
In the UK, a record 4GWh of BESS capacity came online in 2025. This shift was characterised by a move toward significantly larger projects, averaging over 400MWh, and a rise in long-duration energy storage (LDES) supported by new "cap and floor" revenue mechanisms.
Read more here
World's largest battery company signs record materials supply deal
CATL, secured a record-breaking $17.2 billion agreement with Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology to procure 3.05 million tons of LFP cathode material through 2031. This move will help stabilise CATL’s supply chain amid surging lithium prices and growing global demand.
Continued calls for new LDES support amidst predicted falling costs
As LDES costs are projected to drop by 37% by 2030, a coalition of industry groups is urging EU policymakers to make the "strategic choice" to integrate these technologies into the continent's energy framework to ensure grid reliability and independence. To achieve this, the coalition recommends that the EU implement duration-aware system modelling, set specific LDES procurement targets, and establish long-term revenue-certainty mechanisms like "cap and floor" schemes as we've seen in the UK.
Germany's new grid fee system proposals put forward
The Federal Network Agency in Germany has published a paper proposing a new system for battery / BESS grid fees from 2029 onwards. The new regulatory framework proposed will allow grid operators to earn a minimum of 1.4% higher revenues starting in 2029 to incentivise the massive investments needed for the country's energy transition.
By improving the risk-return profile for operators like E.ON and Amprion, the regulator aims to unlock the estimated €450 billion required to modernise the grid and integrate renewable energy by 2045.
The growing need for enhanced cybersecurity around BESS
In our latest Market & Talent Review, I predicted that cybersecurity would become a core pillar in decision making around BESS investments.
Well the recent warnings from cybersecurity firms Dragos and The Brattle Group lend weight to this prediction. They urge the industry to adopt proactive security measures, particularly around supply chain visibility and strict remote access protocols. They highlight that although standardisation has reduced costs and simplified BESS deployments, it has also made them easier targets for cyberattacks by reducing the level of sophistication required to exploit them. Uniform technology and direct internet connectivity expand the attack surface, potentially allowing adversaries to cause significant financial losses and grid instability.
Recruitment News
Firstly, some sound advice on the value of mastering your interview process from our Director of Delivery Ross Hoare
It's been a great month of progress on some of our key searches as well as securing several new partnerships with existing and new clients in the space. See below:
- Chair of the Board - New search with an energy storage client in expansion phase across Europe, now aided by strategic investment.
- Co-Founding CEO - Early-stage deeptech venture in the UK with an international market focus and early commercial traction in various industries such as O&G, Mining, Defence & Military etc. We require a CEO focused on commercialisation and fundraising to sit alongside the product-orientated Founders.
- VP Asset Optimization - Operational leadership role with real impact. Helping a market optimization and trading tech scaleup to grow across the US (multi ISO focus), empowering and growing a team, and coordinating closely with senior leadership on driving continuous improvements in all facets of the business.
- Senior Business Developer (Netherlands) + Supply Chain & Finance Manager (France) + Senior Technical PM (Europe) - with an exciting long-duration energy storage company, now backed by a strategic industrial investor, and focusing on growth in the maritime, ports and logistics segment.
Deals
Here is a selection of latest investment and M&A deals in the sector!
Investments
R.Power - €250 million (Equity) - To enable the Polish renewables IPP to develop a large-scale battery portfolio in Europe
Terralayr (Germany) - $223 Million / €192 million (Equity) - For the developer, owner, and operator of BESS assets to further grow its grid-scale BESS portfolio in Germany while scaling its LAYR (virtual battery and route-to-market optimization platform). Congrats to Philipp Man, Ludwig Wurlitzer, Mikko Preuss and team.
Gore Street Capital closes it's European BESS fund - This first fund close will target battery storage investments mainly in the European Union - it has already received cornerstone commitments from European Investment Fund and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, alongside other institutional, strategic and family office entities.
Jupiter Power - $500 million (Green revolving loan + letter of credit) - for the US BESS developer-operator to support the advance its project pipeline across the US.
Cylib (Germany) - €63.4 million - For the battery recycling scaleup to finance the second build-out stage of its and Europe’s first dedicated industrial-scale LFP recycling line in Dormagen, doubling total planned facility capacity to 60,000 tonnes annually - equivalent to 140,000 electric vehicle batteries. Congratulations Lilian Schwich, Gideon Schwich, Paul Sabarny and team.
MFT Energy invests in Northium Energy - MFT, the energy trading player in Denmark, has invested in Northium, acquiring a majority stake in the Danish grid-scale BESS developer. Northium Energy gains capital to accelerate and scale its project pipeline, combined with access to MFT’s market optimisation, algo trading, and market execution capabilities
NeoVolta (US) secures $13 million - to support NeoVolta’s planned entry into large-scale U.S. production, including a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Georgia, focusing on utility-level and C&I BESS production (initial capacity approx. 2 GWh)
M&A
Gresham House acquires SUSI Partners - With SUSI, the investment manager, now integrated it creates a £2.7 billion energy transition investment platform. The combined entity is launching a new global energy storage strategy, including international expansion, in 2026.
Kraken £750 million ($1 billion) funding to demerge from Octopus Energy - With this transaction, Kraken reached a staggering Kraken $8.65 billion valuation. Following the demerger from Octopus, Kraken will operate with a separate cap table, independent governance and leadership. Read more insights on Kraken from our MD, David Hunt. Article can be found here
Drax acquires Flexitricity for £36 million from Quinbrook - The UK-based flexibility asset optimiser manages over 900 MW of assets across wholesale, balancing and ancillary markets and this acquisition supports Drax’s plans to build a GW-scale battery storage pipeline and expand third-party optimisation services.
Elysia acquires Zitara - The Fortescue owned company in the UK has acquired US onsite controls company Zitara, and will integrate Zitara's tech into their battery intelligence portfolio - enhancing their foothold in the BESS market on both sides of the Atlantic.
I wanted to end this edition with some of my personal Must Watch / Must Listen Recommendations
1. Modo Energy Transmission Podcast
i) The Digital Backbone of Energy Storage Optimization with host Ed Porter and guest Roger Hollies of Arenko
2. 🎙Redefining Energy Podcast with co-hosts Laurent Segalen Gerard Reid Michael Barnard
Big Funds, Bigger Bets: Inside Infrastructure's Power Shift: with Zak Bentley
3. Energy Unplugged podcast by Aurora Energy Research
i) From Grid Bottlenecks to Battery Value: Europe’s Storage Markets Evolve with Claudia Günther + Steffen Schülzchen and Constantin Nicklas of Entrix
ii) Flexibility, Batteries and the Future of Europe’s Power System with Jesse Hettema +Simon Bushell of Sympower
4. Leaders in Cleantech Podcast hosted by Hyperion Search Ltd MD David Hunt
i) Johannes Leon Kirnberger- MD & Co-Founder at Delta Charge - Episode here
ii) Juergen Mayerhofer - Founder & CEO of enspired - Episode here
If you enjoyed this edition of the Energy Storage News and Views, please share with your network and don't forget to Subscribe if you haven't already. There will be a new edition coming soon!
See you next time!
David