07.09.2026
On September 8, 2026, Energy Club will hold a closed online meeting, ‘European Experience in BESS Development: Practical Models, Grid Integration, and Opportunities for Ukraine.’
Practical experience will be shared by Oskari Jaakkola, CEO of the Finnish company Cactos, which specializes in the production, implementation, and management of energy storage systems.
During the meeting, Cactos will present its vision for the future of the energy system and demonstrate how distributed storage systems are already being used to solve specific tasks for consumers, energy companies, and grid operators.
Cactos operates according to a vertically integrated model, which includes BESS production at its own factory in Finland, system installation and maintenance, software management and optimization, electricity sales, and project financing through its own infrastructure fund.
Today, the company has manufactured and installed over 150 MWh of storage systems, deployed over 450 installations, and operates in seven countries. The largest Cactos system in operation has a capacity of 14.2 MWh.
Meeting participants will review practical BESS usage models, including:
Separately, a case study of the logistics company Wibax, which is electrifying its vehicle fleet, will be presented. At the Malmö terminal, trucks are charged with a power of about 450 kW, despite the grid connection being only 3 × 200 A. Additional power is provided by the storage system, which limits the peak consumption from the grid to approximately 138 kW.
Another discussion area will be the use of distributed BESS for automatic balancing. Based on real-time metering data, the systems can charge or discharge electricity depending on the current position of the consumer or supplier during the settlement period.
Cactos representatives will emphasize that ancillary services are only one application of storage systems. As the market develops, the significance of BESS is gradually shifting from individual capacity markets to the balancing, intraday, and wholesale markets, as well as to local services for consumers and distribution system operators.
The presentation will cover the European experience of simultaneous operation of a distributed BESS portfolio in the FCR, aFRR, mFRR, day-ahead, and intraday markets, as well as the use of storage devices for local peak management, backup power, optimization of network costs, and maintenance of power quality.
Special attention will be paid to new mechanisms for managing local network constraints. In particular, participants will discuss the possibility of applying dynamic distribution tariffs, bilateral agreements between BESS owners and distribution system operators, and the development of local flexibility markets.
Ukraine’s experience demonstrates that distributed solutions significantly increase the resilience of the energy system amid military attacks. Modern BESS can simultaneously perform commercial functions and provide backup power and island mode operation for facilities.
During the professional discussion, participants will consider which European approaches can be adapted in Ukraine, how to combine local consumer needs with the needs of the energy system, and what role equipment manufacturers, suppliers, aggregators, network operators, EPC companies, and developers should play in this.
The meeting includes a presentation by Oskari Jaakkola and an open professional discussion with the opportunity to ask the speaker questions.
Cactos has been a member of Energy Club since 2025.
