Optimus Energy supported Renewable EnergyTech for yet another year, the international exhibition held in Thessaloniki focusing on green and smart energy and the development of the energy market across Southeast Europe.
Renewable EnergyTech
As part of this year’s event, Stella Zacharia, CEO of Optimus Energy, participated in the discussion on the new era of energy storage in Greece, at a particularly important time for the sector: the first large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are now moving from development and preparation to energization and, gradually, to active participation in the electricity markets.
From Project Development to Active Operation
The entry of the first BESS projects into the market marks a new chapter for the Greek energy sector. The focus is now shifting from when these projects will be built and energized to how they can operate effectively within an increasingly complex market environment.
For Optimus Energy, this transition is a natural continuation of the path the company has followed in recent years in the active management of energy portfolios. As Stella Zacharia highlighted, the company has consistently invested in the technological and operational infrastructure required to manage flexible energy resources, having already integrated a significant part of its portfolio into its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and put real-time active management into practice.
At the same time, Optimus Energy has prepared for the representation of energy storage systems across the different electricity markets, having completed the necessary technical and operational procedures with the relevant market and system operators and already onboarded its first BESS projects.
Batteries as Active Market Participants
The operation of a BESS differs fundamentally from that of a conventional renewable energy asset. A battery is not simply another asset that produces or absorbs energy. Its value depends on a continuous sequence of decisions regarding when to charge, when to discharge, in which market to offer its power and energy, and how to allocate its available capacity among different opportunities.
This complexity increases further as these decisions need to be made dynamically, taking into account market conditions, the technical constraints of the asset and, in the case of projects operating under support schemes, the specific requirements governing their operation. In this environment, optimizing BESS operation is a critical factor for both their financial performance and their broader contribution to the electricity system.
Technology and Optimization at the Core
For this reason, Optimus Energy has invested in advanced optimization capabilities, combining its knowledge of the Greek electricity market and its experience in representation and trading with specialized algorithmic optimization tools.
Through its collaboration with enspired, the company is preparing to leverage BESS through cross-market optimization, enabling each asset to dynamically capture opportunities across different electricity markets while always operating within its technical and regulatory constraints.
The objective therefore goes beyond simply enabling batteries to participate in the market. It is about developing an active, dynamic and technologically advanced management model that enables the flexibility of each storage asset to be utilized as effectively as possible.
A New Tool for a Changing Electricity System
The entry of batteries comes at a time when increasing renewable penetration is rapidly transforming the operation of the Greek electricity market. Periods of high renewable generation, low or zero electricity prices and the growing need to manage surplus renewable production are highlighting the need for greater system flexibility.
Within this new landscape, BESS can become one of the most important tools for facilitating the efficient integration of renewable energy into the electricity system, reducing the loss of green energy while creating new opportunities for participation across electricity markets.
For Optimus Energy, the next phase therefore marks the transition from preparation to implementation: from developing the necessary systems, processes and partnerships to the actual operation and optimization of the first energy storage projects.
As the first BESS projects enter the market, the objective is no longer simply to operate batteries, but to fully unlock their flexibility for the benefit of the assets, the electricity market and the energy system as a whole.
Watch Stella Zacharia’s full remarks and the discussion on the new era of energy storage in the Greek electricity market in the video below.
