Energy Transition Today EBRD's Ahmad El Mokadem on making battery storage bankable in Central and Eastern Europe
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Dec 19, 2025 Ahmad El Mokadem, a Senior Energy Transition Finance Lead at the EBRD, discusses the evolving landscape of energy storage in Central and Eastern Europe. He highlights how the EBRD has shifted focus to scaling renewable energy and grid integration. Ahmed emphasizes that bankability hinges on revenue predictability and regulatory stability rather than just technology. He shares insights on mobilizing private capital post-Ukraine war, promising markets like Poland and Romania, and the future of battery procurement strategies.
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Three Phases Of EBRD Energy Work
- The EBRD evolved from market creation to renewable scale-up and now to green acceleration focused on flexibility and resilience.
- Ahmed El Mokadem frames the current phase as prioritising storage, grids and system flexibility over megawatts.
Bankability Is Risk Visibility, Not Tech
- Bankability hinges less on technology and more on risk visibility, revenue certainty and capital structure.
- Ahmed lists four anchors: predictable revenues, contractual structure, regulatory stability and capital stack alignment.
Engage IFIs Early For Structure
- Engage IFIs early to help design bankable templates for PPAs, grid contracts and risk allocation.
- Use EBRD or similar partners to anchor deals and standardise documentation for replication.