Unlocking investment for flexible assets with Roberto Castiglioni and Helena Anderson (Ikigai Capital)

Oct 30, 2025

Helena Anderson and Roberto Castiglioni, co-founders of Ikigai Capital, dive into the complexities of financing flexible energy assets. They discuss the challenges investors face in valuing hybrid projects despite their critical role in a decarbonized grid. The duo highlights the importance of evolving financing models to accommodate system value, not just generation. Both emphasize collaboration between developers, investors, and regulators as key to unlocking the potential of large-scale battery projects and achieving Italy's renewable goals.

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ANECDOTE

From Behind-The-Meter Skepticism To Front-Of-Meter Fixes

Ikigai began with behind-the-meter battery ideas for critical industrial loads and faced investor skepticism.
They later helped fix front-of-meter projects and prepared them for institutional capital.

INSIGHT

Italy Scales Where GB De-Risked

Maxe scales up lessons from GB by offering longer durations and larger batteries rather than repeating short-duration contracts.
The auction is a scaling tool, not a nascent de-risking instrument like early EFR schemes.

ADVICE

Base Decisions On Long-Term Market Fundamentals

Evaluate long-term structural factors like renewable penetration and gas phase-out when sizing storage investments.
Position projects for likely future needs such as longer-duration and alternative storage technologies.

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Flexible and hybrid energy projects are essential for a resilient, decarbonised grid but they’re still the hardest to finance. Investors know flexibility has value, yet traditional project finance models can’t capture it, leaving critical projects stuck before they start.

In this episode of Transmission, Roberto Castiglioni and Helena Anderson from Ikigai Capital explain why today’s financing structures are failing to meet the needs of the modern grid. We explore why flexibility projects are so difficult to bank, what investors are missing when it comes to valuing hybrid assets, and how smarter financial modelling could unlock the next wave of storage, co-location, and system optimisation.

Key topics covered:

- Why flexibility and hybrid projects remain underfunded despite strong system need

- The revenue and risk barriers stopping co-located assets from reaching financial close

- How project finance must evolve to reflect system value, not just generation

- The role of regulation and market signals in de-risking investment

- What collaboration between developers, investors, and system operators could look like

About our guests:

Roberto Castiglioni and Helena Anderson are co-founders of Ikigai Group, an investment and advisory firm bridging the gap between capital and the energy transition. They specialise in developing and financing complex projects that combine renewables, storage, and flexibility solutions to create smarter, more resilient energy systems.

For more information, head to the Ikigai website. https://www.ikigai-capital.co.uk/

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 interviews are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, conversations, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.