The first Battery Asset Management Summit took place in San Diego last week. As nearly 300 attendees from energy storage developers, operators, and investors gathered to discuss the fast changing landscape, a few themes emerged. 

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1. Energy storage is a new and unique asset class. The industry is figuring it out.
   Energy storage is still a relatively new asset class, and stakeholders are actively working to refine the strategies needed to maximize its potential. Throughout the summit, attendees emphasized that developing scalable, optimized solutions feels like “building the plane as we’re flying it.” Each market has its own unique characteristics, and approaches to storage operations. From market-specific regulations to unique incentive programs to changing technologies, developers and operators are working to stay agile so they are able to keep pace, and maximize their outcomes in the fast changing environment.
   
   The complexity has also made it challenging to understand what good looks like. The industry has yet to orient around reliable performance benchmarks and technical standards. For example, when comparing operating revenue for assets in the same market, it is important to know the cycle count, risk tolerance, and other key variables are consistent.
   
   The finance community echoed these sentiments and acknowledged that many structures used for lending and investing have been repurposed from renewable generation assets, which neglects many of the unique attributes storage brings to the table.
   
   
   
2. The rate of change will not slow down.
   Across the board, summit participants agreed that the pace of change in energy storage is only accelerating. Investors, developers, and operators all agree that batteries will continue to be critical for supporting our aging grid, rising energy demand, and clean power goals. With strong conviction and momentum, all parties are eager to continue investing in the space.
   
   Many are excited by the continued demand and revenue opportunities ERCOT and CAISO have to offer, and are exploring paths into emerging markets, namely MISO and PJM – grids that stand to benefit from the stability and flexibility that storage can offer.
   
   For companies to scale operations effectively, they will require increasingly advanced solutions that allow them to offload some of the time intensive tasks they grapple with today. During an Ask Me Anything session at the summit, panelists were asked what pain point they would solve if they could wave a magic wand. One panelist replied that they would wish to “have an easy button for state of charge management.” Such manual tasks, many of which require constant attention, can limit an operator’s ability to focus on higher-value strategy.
   
   
   
3. Operators will need a both/and solution.
   In order to enter new markets with confidence and operate storage portfolios at scale, advanced software with the ability to automate the most complex, data-intensive pieces is required. At the same time, energy storage teams have unique expertise and need the ability to remain in the loop – so they maintain full visibility into strategy, and can execute changes at any time. Effective solutions will need to provide both.
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   Expanding on the ‘building the plane metaphor, Tyba’s co-founder & COO Tom Thunell shared that many operators have benefited from the ability to leverage both auto-pilot mode – meaning the platform can develop and execute BESS operations based on a pre-established risk profile – or aviator mode – where traders are in-the-loop and leverage tools like AI/ML-powered forecasts and a single interface connecting them to the market to maintain strategic oversight.
   
   
   

Optimizing energy storage assets to ensure longevity and profitability will be critical to ensuring their long-term viability. Luckily, the ecosystem is all energized and eager to continue building solutions that ensure we can meet future energy needs and adapt to market evolution with confidence.

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