How Battery Route to Market Structures Impact Investment with Victoria Upton (bp)

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Jul 24, 2025

Victoria Upton, European Power Originator at bp, dives into the intricacies of battery energy storage and its commercialization. She highlights why tolling agreements are becoming crucial for mitigating risk in revenue streams. The discussion also unveils how the choice of optimizer can significantly affect contract returns. Upton explains the advantages of virtual battery swaps as flexible hedging tools and discusses the impact of co-locating solar and storage on profitability. Splitting large batteries into smaller management units is revealed as a smart strategy for maximizing revenue and control.

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ANECDOTE

Victoria's Early Battery Experience

Victoria Upton shared her start in energy with EDF's graduate program and early battery project at West Burton B in 2016.
She witnessed the early days of battery storage development in Great Britain first-hand.

INSIGHT

Tolling Familiar to Traders

Tolling agreements introduce a familiar risk profile for large trading organizations like BP.
They integrate a battery's risk into broader portfolios, managing risk with known commodity strategies.

ADVICE

How Tolling Works

In tolling, the optimizer pays a fixed fee to the asset owner and takes the revenue risk.
If the asset underperforms, the optimizer bears the loss; if it outperforms, the optimizer benefits.

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As battery energy storage scales across Great Britain, the commercial model behind each project is becoming as critical as the technology itself. For developers, investors, and offtakers, securing the right revenue structure is key to unlocking finance, managing risk, and delivering bankable returns.

With revenue streams coming from a mix of merchant markets, capacity schemes, and ancillary service, navigating this environment requires a clear understanding of how different route-to-market structures allocate risk and reward. As capital becomes more selective, contract structure is now a core driver of whether projects progress or stall.

In this episode, Ed is joined by Victoria Upton, European Power Originator at bp. Over the conversation they discuss:

Why tolling agreements are becoming a go-to model for de-risking battery revenues.
How the optimiser you choose can make or break your floor contract returns.
What virtual battery swaps offer as a flexible, asset-free hedging tool.
The implications of co-locating solar and storage.
How splitting large batteries into multiple BMUs unlocks revenue and control.

About our guest

Victoria Upton is a Power Originator at bp, working at the intersection of energy trading and commercial structuring for low-carbon assets. With deep experience in route-to-market strategies, Victoria plays a key role in developing and executing commercial models for battery storage and renewable energy projects across Great Britain and Europe.

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.

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