As we approach year's end and the holidays season, it's a period of both reflection and planning for everyone.

2025 has been a rather turbulent year for the sector, with sweeping policy reforms, global trade wars, and an investment squeeze. For many, it's been a year of consolidation, or in some cases survival. However, in BESS it has driven an even deeper focus on extracting maximum ROI from every project and a more considered approach throughout the project lifecycle - every decision is now scrutinised with a significant importance placed on clear data. What has encouraged me is the collaboration I'm seeing between developers, asset owners, optimisers and O&M / Asset Managers.

From a talent perspective, it' safe to say we're experiencing a "soft" market at the moment. Here's my advice to business leaders thinking this is an opportunistic time for a quick win hire... be careful!

Events

Recently Hyperion co-hosted the Climate Coffee event - a breakfast networking event at our offices in London. A real success with 60+ people in attendance - we look forward to hosting another in the future!

Market News

Global Deployments To Date 39% Up

Cumulative BESS deployments in the first ten months of the year have now reached 156GWh, up 39% year-on-year, according to recent research by Rho Motion mainly dominated by China (no shock there!)

Europe Close To Reaching Key Deployment Milestone

Q3 2025 marked sustained yet complex growth in the Energy Storage and Grid sector. Record BESS deployments, particularly in the U.S, were offset by policy uncertainty, trade tensions and challenging investment conditions for technology providers from outside of Asia. Nonetheless, there is excitement around the huge demand opportunity that datacentres and AI will bring for Energy Storage and the continued emergence of longer duration storage technologies.

Market Trends

• Grid-scale storage in Europe expanded rapidly, especially in Italy, Germany, and the UK, driven by high renewable penetration and growing flexibility needs. This is dominated by grid-scale projects but the investment cases are growing for C&I as behind-themeter revenue opportunities increase across Europe.
• Long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies gained traction, with Italy’s 10 GWh MACSE auction, 77 UK projects
  progressing under the cap-and-floor mechanism, and Google partnering with Energy Dome to decarbonise operations.
• Energy security and supply chain resilience remain key priorities. Governments are pushing for local manufacturing to reduce reliance on Chinese imports, though competitiveness and financing challenges persist.
  • Grid constraints continue across several markets. The UK’s NESO reforms aim to ease connection bottlenecks, and following Iberian blackouts, Spain increased its grid investment cap by 62% and Portugal committed €400M investment, and German policy changes could remove fee exemptions for storage between 2026-2029, threatening project viability.
• In the U.S., record BESS deployments in California, Texas, and Arizona contrasted with new policy uncertainty stemming from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) and “Foreign Entity of Concern” (FEOC) regulations.
• The AI revolution energy demand is accelerating large-scale BESS adoption for utilities and IPPs, as datacentres require faster, more flexible clean power solutions.
• AI-driven forecasting, optimisation, and trading tools are becoming essential for maximising storage asset performance and
  returns.

Talent Trends

In Q3, hiring shifted toward project execution, new-market expansion and supply chain resilience. Demand increased for:

• Project Engineers and Managers – delivering large-scale deployments.
• Territory Expansion Leaders – establishing new country or regional operations.
• Grid Managers – navigating evolving regulatory and connection landscapes.
• Asset Optimisation Specialists – maximising returns from complex BESS portfolios.
• Supply Chain Leaders – securing and stabilising battery and component supply.

Key Deals

• Fidra Energy reached financial close on the UK’s largest BESS project (Thorpe Marsh) totalling over L1Bn in equity and debt financing.
• The EU Commission pledged €852M in battery manufacturing grants.
• The UK’s National Wealth Fund, Equitix, and Aware Super (two private investment firms) invested L500M in Eelpower’s grid scale projects.
• Sympower and Suena raised €27M combined to accelerate the rollout of their BESS optimisation and flexibility software.
• FlexGen acquired Powin’s IP and key assets following bankruptcy.
• Lyten acquired all remaining assets of Northvolt, including gigafactories and IP valued at approximately $5 billion.

You can read, download and share our  full Q3 Cleantech Market & Talent Review here: Hyperion Market Reviews

Flexibility is now one of, if not the most, important consideration for most professionals we speak to when looking for their next career challenge. 

Therefore, the proposed rule changes around 4 day working weeks in the UK, as highlighted in this article, are very interesting indeed. In fact, they could be revolutionary for work as we know it!

Currently, employees in the UK have the right to request flexible working, but employers aren’t legally obliged to agree. However, that could be set to change with new planned laws which would mean all employers must offer employees the option of flexible 4 day working from day one of employment, except where it is “not reasonably feasible” (What this latter stipulation means, time will tell!)

It's a topic I've heard many people discussing recently and in most cases, positively.

The 4 day week has already been trialled and fully implemented in other countries, such as Belgium, Australia, Denmark etc and in 2023, a trial of over 60 companies in the UK, found approx. 90% of participating companies were positive post-trial and chose to keep the 4 day working arrangements permanently. 

It's a topic close to home too. Here at Hyperion we offer the 4 day flexibility for some of our team members who have requested it, for example those with young children who might be navigating childcare availability and costs. Now in our case it's made easier given we're a Services business and ultimately quality output is the main measure for us. There's no “clock in, clock out” culture - ultimately, if your working pattern means you're delivering against your objectives and aligning with our values, then great!

Some of the positive impacts reported by those who have implemented the 4 day week include:

• Boosts in productivity - Many companies found that output improved after introducing 4 day weeks. With reduced hours, employees were more focused and efficient, so they could enjoy the benefits of the extra day off
• Improved engagement - Better work-life balance made people feel happier and more engaged during their working days. This can really boost team harmony and ultimately performance
• Reduced burnout - according to this BBC article, 71% of the 2023 UK trial reported reductions in levels of burnout
• Hiring benefits - With flexibility being a key driver for many job seekers, offering this arrangement can give companies an edge over competition when attracting top talent

Of course, it's not that easy for all industries and even in sectors where it is more practical, it will take some adjustment for many company leaders (it's been difficult enough to convince some leaders to allow working from home flexibility, never mind 4 day working!). As we know, typically people don't like change!

If you're a business leader faced with the prospect of these new rules, there are some important things to keep in mind:

• Not everyone will want this. Don't assume this needs to be a blanket rule. Some people like and work better in the routine and pace of a 5 day week and therefore may not adjust to a reduced week. 
• Be smart with how this is implemented. It's no use having half your team off on the same day, if you have round-the-clock business. Think about how this can be staggered or on a rotation for your team members
• There should be no concessions when it comes to meeting objectives. This is an employee choice and accountability should come with this flexibility.
• Be careful not to inadvertently create an unhealthy intense, high-pressure work environment by compressing the same workload into four days. Be mindful your employees could end up overwhelmed and not perform at their best or in more severe cases this could impact physical and mental health.
• Less time for critical thinking and reflection. Some of the best business ideas spawn from “free time” where your team can reflect and focus on new solutions. This condensed workload may eliminate those windows of opportunity for creativity and strategizing. 
• You may see top performers crash. In many businesses, productivity is already super high, with fast pace and constant deadlines (those running start-ups know exactly what I mean) so reducing workdays may seem like a benefit, but in fact it might add a new layer of pressure. Instead of taking the extra day to work on themselves, recharge the batteries, or be with their families, employees could instead end up logging into work to catch up on tasks they couldn’t complete during the 4 days, which ultimately defeats the point!

Ultimately, whether this concept works can come down to how it's implemented by the business leaders - particularly how you balance being accommodating of employee's expectations and the needs and expectations of the business. In any successful work model, whether its 4 days, 5 days, or whatever else, the focus should be on the quality of work and the wellbeing of employees. Don't treat them like cogs in a machine!

How do you anticipate the new 4 day working week rule changes affecting your business?

Hyperion supports cleantech and climatetech clients across Europe, to hire top senior and executive leadership talent. If you're looking for support in growing your business, contact me at david.beeston@hyperionsearch.com

Show me the money!

Those of a certain age will remember the famous Jerry Maguire line. I often think of this when discussing the merits of renewables and energy storage with clients. Often clients tell me that one of the core challenges is convincing financers or those outside the industry, on the merits of “going green”. Rolling out technology specs and a bunch of acronyms sometimes doesn't cut it. Sometimes you need to break it down to simple financial terms… Show me the money!

This excellent analysis by Ember highlights the HUGE monetary benefits we could see by ramping up our BESS deployments. Focused on the EU, but applicable globally, the impact BESS can have on not only reducing curtailment costs but also alleviating the reliance on expensive gas generation, is enormous.

Quite simply, who can argue against potentially €9 billion per year in reduced costs?!

Hyperion Search supports Energy Storage and Grid clients to recruit senior and executive leadership talent, who can help their companies to grow significantly. If you're a leader of a Energy Storage & Grid company looking to expand or transform your leadership team, contact me at david.beeston@hyperionsearch.com to discuss how we can support you.