The battery storage market is going through a phase of oversaturation and fragmentation, with the real risk of a new period of “cannibalization”. It is a time when developers are forced to rethink business models and get closer to the real needs of consumers and the market, warns Răzvan Popa, Partner & CEO of Jantzen Renewables.
“I think the market is changing and we are changing with it. First of all we think we need to be closer to the needs of the market and develop things that are needed by the market, as opposed to ‘let’s see what we can do’,” Popa explained at the 11th Energy Strategy Summit, the flagship event of Energynomics. He points out that currently, a solar project reaches an IRR of “7-8%, very hard to imagine”.
“It was a different situation five years ago. Now solar capture prices have taken an absolutely significant drop and then you don’t get it anymore,” Popa explained.”We asked ourselves the question: OK, let’s add batteries. And we came to an anecdotal conclusion: if you have a shoe store that’s doing poorly, adding a sock rack isn’t going to change anything.”
In other words, simply attaching 4-hour batteries to a solar project does not solve the problem. “Simply adding four-hour batteries to it is not the sunniest solution. I think the market has room for smart projects,” Popa said. “You go to the market and you’re trying to sell your PPA and on the other side is someone who says, ‘That’s very interesting, your solar PPA, but I don’t need power at lunch. I need something else’. That’s kind of the market requirement.”
Popa draws attention to the risk of a new period of “cannibalization” in the battery segment: “Everybody makes batteries, everybody puts hundreds of MW, but they don’t listen to you. If they listen to you, people realize that it’s not enough to put batteries, socks next to shoes. You’re putting batteries, but with logic.”
In the same panel, Mihaela Coroiu, Director Sustainable Energy Projects at Energobit, completed the market picture by explaining that project hybridization is already a clear trend. “A PV renewable energy project produces in the middle of the day. If you consume in the middle of the day, perfect. If not, diversify. And this new trend is emerging in 2025 of hybridization of projects,” she said.
On the other hand, Răzvan Popa also emphasized the problem of market fragmentation and bottlenecks in the network: “Unfortunately, until those of us who are looking for more market-oriented solutions, you have a lot of people who put tickets and block the network.”
Beyond the technology, the message is clear: the market is forced to mature. Simply adding batteries to solar projects is no longer a viable business model in the context of falling capture prices and low profitability. Investors and developers need to rethink their approach, integrate more complex hybrid solutions and take into account real consumer requirements.
2025 Energy Strategy Summit was organised by Energynomics, with the support of our partners: AJ Brand, Elektra Renewable Support, ABB, Adrem Asset Management, Alive Capital, BCR, DEKRA, Distribuție Energie Electrică Romania, E-Infra, Eaton Electric, Electrica Furnizare, EnergoBit, Enery, Enevo Group, Enexus, European Investment Bank, Evryo, Exim Banca Romaneasca, Delgaz Grid, Genesis Biopartner, Huawei, ING Bank, Jantzen Renewables, Keno Energy, Leader Team, LONGi, Nano Energies, Prime Batteries Technology, Procesio, Procredit Bank, Relians, Renomia, Romgaz, Schneider Electric, script.ai, Sermatec, smartPulse, Solar Today, SolaX, Think Blu Solution, Voltika, Wiren, YEO, AIployees, Aqua Carpatica, Alexandrion, Carbon Tool, Imsol.