Breaking the Binary: Achieving Both Profitability and Performance in BESS

Synopsis

Battery energy storage systems are high-value assets but operators often face a tough trade-off:
push for profitability or preserve long-term health. This session challenges that binary.
We’ll explore how persistent uncertainties in key metrics—like state of charge (SoC), state of
health (SoH), and degradation—have historically forced operators to underutilize their systems to
avoid risk. But that’s changing. New advances in measurement, analytics, and service guarantee
models are rewriting the rules of BESS operations.
In this session, Wärtsilä Energy Storage’s Steve Merrick will share the three critical challenges that
impact both profitability and asset life:

• Measurement accuracy: SoC, cell imbalance, degradation, and unit-level outage visibility
• Contractual constraints: Limited view into actual capacity outside of annual capacity test
  creates uncertainty
• Operational rigidity: Performance guarantees that restrict how systems are run

Steve will also share how smarter algorithms, adaptive service models, and more flexible contracts
are enabling operators to maximize usable energy, mitigate operational risk, and improve lifecycle
returns.