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 guest
Erik 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 Energy
Modo 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.
