As the UK Environment Agency advances its consultation on integrating BESS into Environmental Permitting Regulations, the BESS industry faces transformative regulatory changes. This keynote will explore how the proposed environmental permitting regulations will reshape battery storage and treatment operations. We’ll examine the critical new standards for waste acceptance protocols, secure storage requirements, and enhanced accident management procedures. Develop approaches to compliance that balances operational efficiency with environmental protection in this rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

This opening keynote panel looks at the fundamentals of asset management, and in the context of both the UK & Ireland. Where are we as an industry right now? You can expect this session to set the scene for the days ahead, what the biggest challenges are in the commencement of operations, and where are the opportunities right now?

• With over 5GW of operational battery storage and more than 130GW in the pipeline, the UK & Ireland markets are entering a critical stage of scale and complexity, where is the industry heading?
• What are the biggest hurdles to overcome?
• Where are the panelists looking forward to seeing develop in the BESS operations industry?

As markets begin to saturate, the industry is always looking to innovate and unlock untapped revenues. Now is a better chance than ever, with the surge of analytic providers and data-led decision making. What strategies are others looking at, and how important are skip rates in the dialogue of missed opportunities?

• Diversifying revenue streams and government initiatives (cap and floor).
• Addressing challenges, market volatility, skip rates & mechanism fluctuations.
• Risk – how much are you willing to put on the line?

Leon Gosh, Founder and Managing Director of Cellect Energy, will discuss key challenges in managing utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Based on interviews with over 50 BESS asset managers, the session will explore issues such as data overload, control infrastructure, and multi-stakeholder coordination. It will also be presented how Cellect Energy’s software solutions—Cellect Platform, Control, and Data Management—help simplify daily operations, improve data handling, and support smoother collaboration across teams. Backed by industry experience and succesful customer implementation, the session offers practical insights into improving BESS operations in a growing and complex market.

The BESS industry is expanding and operationalising rapidly. As software continues to be integrated into BESS, this panel will see examine the key trends emerging in the market, from technical and commercial asset management, AI & machine learning, and advanced controls.

• What pain points do you have that can be addressed?
• Navigating the field of software – how to find the right provider for you?
• Where can you gain a competitive edge?

This 20-minute case study from Gore Street Capital, one of the biggest UK funds, will highlight the realities of portfolio management, the biggest lessons learned in the market, and more.

Ireland has 1GW of battery storage operational already, and over the last 12 months introduced new policies, mechanisms and strategy to facilitate big battery surge by 2030 – up to 5GW (13.5GWh) of dispatchable storage.

• What are the learned experiences of asset operators to date?
• How will the past 12 months impact old, new, and current storage projects?
• What are the commercial opportunities in Ireland?

Ending our Day One, we are introducing our brand-new format – Colour Coded & Themes networking.

The premise is simple, pick up a colour representative of your company activity (asset owner, optimiser, software provider, investor etc.), and network with other colours of your choice! Arranged around a number of themes, such as safety, performance, revenues etc, we encourage all participants to move around the tables and meet everyone.

Each table will have a clipboard of the theme – add your key thoughts of how we can come together and further the industry or your questions; we will then distribute the key talking points post-event with a follow-up Q&A.

The opening keynote from Informa Markets Research Team brings the latest Battery Storage Report. How much is operational across the UK & Ireland right now? How much are we expecting to see connected in the next year, and what does the wider pipeline look like?

Following headlines globally at the start of 2025, safety is non-negotiable for every asset owner.

• Starting with thermal runway, what is the responsibility of the asset owner vs provider? How often should you test your BESS?
• What lessons can be learned from past incidents, and how can the industry come together to ensure worst-case scenarios never happen?
• With the surge of remote controlling or monitoring, how can cyber security best practices be implemented?
• Importance of workforce safety.

This keynote panel takes the veterans of asset operators across the UK & Ireland, and their lessons learned. What would they do again, what wouldn’t they do, and what might they consider doing?

Following on from the commercial discussion, we are now bringing the attention to technical asset management, looking at different perspectives and approaches to technical asset management, ensuring your BESS is set up for success. With comprehensive plans for assets well before they are operationalised, what happens when something unaccounted for happens?

• Do cycle limits make sense? With BESS often outperforming warranties, how can you navigate this? Is it time for the industry to move beyond traditional warranties?
• Focusing on availability, performance & reliability – picking the right providers.
• Fostering a collaborative approach – communicating with every party.

Starting with an initial 35 minute panel discussion, this open forum allows for audience interaction and expert dialogue around battery degradation pathways, augmentation opportunities and end of life strategies.

• Could battery degradation lead to failure of extended performance testing?
• How do different degradation patterns impact performance testing and operational reliability?
• Exploring technical approaches to extend battery life through augmentation, reconditioning and capacity restoration.
• State of Health Measurements: How measurement techniques must adapt throughout the degradation phase to maintain accuracy.
• Planning ahead – 5, 10, 15 years; what’s your target?

“The Catastrophic impacts of climate change will be felt beyond the traditional horizons of most actors … in other words, once climate change becomes a defining issue for financial stability, it may already be too late.”