Feature - Energy trading
We trade your battery storage's idle capacity on the energy markets, so you earn extra income from capacity you already own.
Zero
market risks for you; we absorb them all
€0
CAPEX for batteries and resources
Multimarket
income streams
How it works
Battery storage creates value locally only up to about 20% of the year. The rest of the time, we trade the battery on the energy markets: buying electricity when it's cheap, selling when prices are high. That way, the battery earns you value around the clock, not just when it's shaving a peak. Your on-site use cases always come first. Trading only happens with what's left over.
Your upfront cost is €0. We finance, install, and operate the battery storage system at your site, and combine your local use cases with additional energy trading. This way, your battery earns you something, even when you're not using it yourself.
The real challenge in trading with battery storage is that how much it can charge or discharge changes dynamically, in real time, and your on-site use cases always have to come first. Our team has years of experience doing exactly this. We take on that operational complexity, so none of the risk falls on you. And because we handle it all in-house, we can act quickly whenever conditions change.
Whenever your battery storage has spare capacity, we put it to work: trading on wholesale markets, correcting real-time imbalances, and getting paid by grid operators for standing ready or offering up capacity you're not using. Here's how each one works.
We buy electricity when it's cheap and sell or discharge when prices rise, automatically and around the clock.
When the grid's actual supply and demand shift from what was predicted, we adjust your battery's position in real time and get paid for it.
If your site has enough flexible power, your battery can get paid by the grid operator just for being available to help stabilize the grid, and paid again when it's actually called on.
Energy trading example
How Bnewable's energy trading maximizes your battery storage utilization, 100% of the time
07:00–09:00 peak shaving
The load ramps up to 3,300 kW as your industrial site starts up. Bnewable's battery discharges to cap that peak, lowering your site's grid capacity charge every month it happens.
11:00–15:00 self-consumption
Midday solar output exceeds what your industrial site needs, and net load dips to -550 kW, power your site would otherwise sell at rock-bottom prices. Instead, Bnewable's battery stores it and heads into the evening already charged.
The rest of the day: energy trading
For roughly 84% of the day, the battery isn't needed for anything else, so it's free to charge and discharge purely on price: day-ahead, intraday, or the imbalance market. Stack all three, and one battery earns nearly around the clock, instead of sitting idle once its one job for the day is done.
References
Bnewable took up the roles of both an energy- and project director for us. From the building permit to negotiations with Fluvius; they absorbed all the risks we faced.
Battery-as-a-Service
Your project with Bnewable follows the Battery-as-a-Service model: you pay a fee only when the battery is actively lowering your electricity costs, and you keep the larger share of those savings. The rest of the time, Bnewable trades on the energy market using your battery, and you get a cut of that too. Either way, you reduce your energy costs and receive extra income, with no investment, and no extra staff required.
1
We size the battery to your consumption, peak loads, solar generation, and grid connection, then calculate what you'd save before you commit to anything.
2
Bnewable covers the full cost of the system. You provide the space and the grid connection; your capital stays in your core business.
3
Energy storage comes with complex permitting. We handle planning, permits, and installation, while your operations continue as usual.
4
We keep the battery running at peak efficiency, cutting demand peaks, maximizing your solar use, or earning market revenue. Maintenance is on us too.
Bnewable trades on the wholesale markets (day-ahead and intraday) and on the balancing and ancillary markets as an accredited party. We also take part in the capacity market and, where the grid operator opens one, in local congestion markets. Bnewable holds Balancing Responsible Party and Balancing Service Provider accreditation with Elia and operates as a Synergrid-conform Flexibility Service Provider.
No. Voltana runs both through the same optimisation engine. It forecasts your load, your on-site generation, and market prices, then calculates the value of every available option every 15 minutes, including peak shaving, self-consumption, day-ahead trading, imbalance trading, and grid fees. Based on that calculation, Voltana dispatches your battery storage system toward whichever option is worth the most at that moment, so local use and trading are optimized together as part of one decision.
No. Bnewable Voltana optimizes for the net result, weighing the savings on your bill against the market revenue at every moment. An hour where peak shaving is worth more than trading is an hour the battery storage system shaves. The cost of operating the battery storage system, including the charges on every kilowatt-hour it takes from the grid, is included in that calculation.
The grid comes first. A request from the grid operator overrides whatever position your battery storage system is holding, and Voltana adjusts the schedule the moment the signal arrives. Bnewable is the balancing responsible party for your battery storage system, so the consequence of breaking off a trade is settled inside our portfolio and does not reach your invoice. Your site keeps running on the capacity it had.
Day to day, energy trading runs automatically. Bnewable Voltana forecasts prices, your site load, and any on-site generation, then builds a schedule for the battery storage system and sends it to the local controller. We monitor the asset and steps in for exceptions, maintenance windows, and market events that fall outside normal patterns.
Yes, energy trading income from energy arbitrage varies significantly from month to month. Income comes from the spread between the cheapest and most expensive hours, often set in the imbalance market, and that spread widens during periods of grid stress and narrows when supply and demand stay balanced. Summer and winter typically produce different patterns for this reason. This variability sits inside Bnewable's portfolio, so it affects your total earnings over time without exposing your site to trading risk directly.
Contact us to explore how Bnewable turns your spare capacity on-site into extra income, every year again.