Transmission

• Multi-market battery development with Erik Strømsø (CEO @ BW ESS)

  Building large-scale battery storage is much more than securing capital and selecting technology. Success hinges on navigating market rules, regulatory timelines, permitting, grid connection challenges, and talent gaps - each of which varies from one country to another. Developing in a single market can alreadt present complexity. Expanding across borders introduces a new set of operational and commercial challenges, but it also unlocks huge opportunity.
In this episode of Transmission, Quentin is joined by Erik Strømsø - Chief Executive Officer at BW ESS. Erik discusses how BW ESS has adjusted to different grid codes, policy timelines, and market signals, and why success often means building a local strategy within a broader portfolio vision. Whether it’s managing duration risk in the Nordics, securing interconnection in Italy, or navigating regulatory change in Germany, this episode offers a real-world look at what it takes to build flexible, investable storage in today’s fragmented energy landscape.

Key topics include:
Why the UK led the early storage build-out: Market liberalisation, merchant opportunities, and a clear policy signal made the UK the launchpad for battery investment.How different European markets compare: What sets Sweden, Germany, and Italy apart in terms of project bankability, permitting, and revenue models.Scarcity as a competitive edge: How grid connection constraints and market friction can work in a developer’s favour - if approached strategically.The bottlenecks no one talks about: Why access to qualified people and institutional knowledge is one of the most critical limits to scale.Contracting and capital discipline: How a long-term investor approaches merchant exposure, offtake, and project risk in high-growth markets.

About our guestErik Strømsø is Chief Executive Officer at BW ESS, the energy storage platform of BW Group - a global industrial group active in shipping, infrastructure, and renewables. Erik leads BW ESS’s efforts to deploy utility-scale battery storage across Europe and Australia, with a particular focus on markets with long-duration needs and supportive policy tailwinds. He brings a background in private equity and infrastructure investment, with experience structuring and delivering energy transition projects across multiple jurisdictions. Under his leadership, BW ESS is positioning itself as a long-term owner and operator of flexible grid assets designed for net zero power systems. For more information on BW ESS, head to their website.About Modo EnergyModo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

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  32:24
• Inside NESO: Designing the grid for net zero in the UK with Julian Leslie (Director of Strategic Energy Planning and Chief Engineer @ NESO)

  As electricity systems decarbonise, the role of national planners and system operators is going through a major shift. Strategic planning is no longer just about keeping the lights on. It now involves reshaping the grid to support high levels of renewable generation, growing electrification, and new sources of flexibility. The challenge lies in aligning long-term goals with real-world system operations.In this episode of Transmission, Ed sits down with Julian Leslie, Director of Strategic Energy Planning and Chief Engineer at the National Energy System Operator (NESO). The conversation explores how long-term energy planning is changing in Great Britain and the need for low-carbon dispatchable power, the role of storage and interconnectors, and the uncertainty around technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture. We also unpack how NESO is managing competing pressures while working to design a future-proof system. If you want to understand how the UK grid is being reimagined for net zero, this one is worth a listen.Key topics include:How Great Britain’s system operator is evolving from National Grid ESO to NESOWhy strategic planning must now consider the whole energy system, not just electricityThe role of low-carbon dispatchable generation in a net zero futureHow hydrogen, storage, and CCS are being factored into long-term plansWhy planning under uncertainty is so difficult, and how NESO is respondingAbout our guestJulian Leslie is Director of Strategic Energy Planning and Chief Engineer at NESO, the new National Energy System Operator for Great Britain. With more than 30 years of experience at National Grid and the ESO, Julian has helped shape both real-time system operations and long-term planning. He now leads the team responsible for designing the future of Britain’s electricity system, ensuring it can meet climate targets while staying reliable and cost effective.For more information on NESO's work, head to their website.About Modo EnergyModo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

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  38:24
• Navigating Europe's patchwork battery markets with Kilian Leykam (Director @ Aquila Clean Energy)

  Europe is seeing a rapid increase in battery energy storage, but no two markets are quite the same. Each country presents its own blend of policy ambition, grid challenges, market structures, and investor appetite. For developers and capital providers, this means a highly fragmented landscape where understanding the local context is just as critical as getting the technology or financing right.In this episode of Transmission, we take a pan-European view of battery investment looking at how the economics, regulation, and risk profile of projects vary from Belgium to the Baltics. Director of Investment Management for Battery Storage at Aquila Clean Energy EMEA - Kilian Leykam joins Ed to explore everything from four-hour assets in the Benelux to co-location in Italy, capacity markets in Greece, and merchant risk in Germany, this conversation explores what it takes to scale a diversified battery portfolio in today’s evolving energy landscape.In this episode, we cover:Project development across multiple European markets: How site selection, policy maturity and market signals drive investment strategy.Four-hour storage in the Benelux: What early operational data tells us about long-duration battery economics.Germany and Italy: Why grid support and flexibility services are gaining momentum.The role of harmonisation: How EU-wide reforms may help or hinder cross-border battery investmentMarket risks and revenue models: From merchant exposure to capacity payments and co-location opportunities.About our guest:Kilian Leykam is Director of Investment Management for Battery Storage at Aquila Clean Energy, where he oversees one of Europe’s most geographically diverse battery portfolios. With more than 7 GW of battery projects spanning nine European countries, Kilian brings deep experience in project development, trading, and strategic energy investment. For more information on what Aquila Clean Energy do, head to the website. About Modo EnergyModo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

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  46:14
• BESS development in Australia's NEM with Elias Saba (CTO @ Eku Energy)

  Battery energy storage is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of Australia’s evolving electricity system. As the National Electricity Market (NEM) transitions to accommodate rising renewable penetration, new policy mechanisms, and famously volatile prices, batteries are taking on a broader range of roles, from firming and arbitrage to frequency control and capacity support. But developing and operating storage in this environment requires more than just technology. It calls for strategic decision-making across commercial, technical, and market dimensions.In this episode, Wendel is joined by Eku Energy's Chief Technology Officer - Elias Saba. The conversation explores how project developers like Eku are approaching duration and sizing, managing merchant risk, accessing FCAS revenues, and navigating the emerging capacity market landscape. We also look at how international experience can inform decision-making in Australia. Key insights include: Why the NEM is a proving ground for batteries: The opportunities and risks of operating in a high-volatility, high-renewables environment.Duration and design choices: How CapEx trends, price signals, and regulatory uncertainty are shaping battery configurations.Revenue stacking in practice: Merchant trading, FCAS markets, and the role of contracting in stabilising returns.Global context, local application: Lessons from other advanced markets and how they translate to the Australian grid.Building for scale: The internal capabilities and strategic frameworks required to run a high-performing storage business.About our guestElias Saba is the Chief Technology Officer and a founding team member at Eku Energy, a global battery storage developer and operator with active projects across Australia, Japan, Italy, and the UK. At Eku, Elias leads technical strategy, project optimisation, and market integration across multiple jurisdictions. His work sits at the intersection of engineering, commercial strategy, and energy market operations shaping how large-scale batteries are deployed and monetised in complex and fast-moving grid environments. For more information, head to their website.About Modo EnergyModo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

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  32:33
• Smart Devices, Smarter Grids: Unlocking Behind-the-Meter Flexibility with Karl Bach (CEO & Co-Founder @ Axle Energy)

  As electricity systems decarbonise, the nature of flexibility is fundamentally shifting. Where grid operators once relied on fossil fuel generation to follow demand, today’s energy systems are increasingly turning to the demand side for flexibility. With more electric vehicles, heat pumps, and behind-the-meter batteries connecting to the grid every day, the potential for distributed assets to support reliability and earn revenue, is rapidly growing.But tapping into that flexibility at scale is no small task. It requires coordination, intelligent optimisation, and a clear route into energy markets. In this episode of Transmission, we explore how software platforms are making it possible to turn thousands of individual devices into aggregated resources that respond dynamically to grid needs. From flexibility markets and revenue stacking to the evolving role of energy suppliers and the economics of decentralised participation, this conversation breaks down how the grid is being rebalanced from the bottom up.Quentin is Joined by Co-Founder & CEO of Axle Energy - Karl Bach. Over the conversation they cover:From load to resource: How electrification of heating, cooling, and transport is transforming grid demand into flexible capacity.Virtual power plants in action: What it takes to orchestrate hundreds of thousands of distributed devices across diverse asset classes.Consumer value meets system need: Why aligning grid requirements with consumer benefit is critical to unlocking participation.The platform model: How software intermediaries are enabling hardware providers and energy retailers to enter flexibility markets.Distributed flexibility as capex-light infrastructure: Why aggregating existing assets may offer faster returns than building new ones.About our guest:Karl Bach is the co-founder and CEO of Axle Energy, a platform that enables distributed energy assets - from EVs and heat pumps to residential batteries, to participate in electricity and flexibility markets. With over a gigawatt of connected capacity, Axle works behind the scenes to optimise assets and unlock value for hardware providers, energy suppliers, and the grid. Karl brings a systems-level perspective to the conversation, shaped by experience at the intersection of energy markets, technology, and scalable software infrastructure. For more information, head to their website. About Modo EnergyModo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.All of our podcasts are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, podcasts, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.

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  35:13

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