Innovations, Trends & More – How Energy Storage and Smart Grids Are Revolutionizing the Energy Transition

The smarter E Podcast Episode 139 | June 29, 2023 | Language: English

The innovations in the field of energy storage and smart grids are enormous. The industry is booming, and there are currently numerous innovations appearing on the market. This is also shown by the submissions for the ees and the EM-Power AWARD, which honor innovative companies with their solutions. What are the current trends to marvel at? Where is the journey heading in the area of storage and smart grids? And where do we still have a need for innovation?

George Hilton and Pierre-Jean Alet tell us in this episode.

Timeline:

  • 02:17 What role do energy storage systems play in 24/7 energy supply with renewable energies?
  • 09:01 Which topics are currently dominating the industry and which trends can be observed?
  • 13:16 What is its significance for the energy sector?
  • 18:41 In which areas around the smart grid do we still need a lot of innovation? What do you expect in the near future?

The smarter E podcast is all about the current trends and developments in a renewable, decentralized and digital energy industry. Our moderators Tobias Bücklein and Zackes Brustik welcome and interview personalities who shape our industry and drive developments forward. A new episode is published every Thursday.

Click on the logo to listen to the podcast on the platform of your choice.

George Hilton is a Senior Analyst focusing on Batteries and Energy Storage in the Climate and Sustainability team at S&P Global Commodity Insights. Dr. George joined S&P Global in 2020 and has seven years of experience in the clean energy sector. He focuses on the energy storage market in Europe, Middle East and Africa and has a particular interest in how energy storage integrates with other industries. He has recently published work on battery recycling, energy storage for EV charging, vehicle-to-grid technologies and the use of batteries in hydrogen production. He also is a member of the ees AWARD jury.

S&P Global Inc. is a publicly traded, U.S. financial services company headquartered in New York City, New York State. The company employs approximately 22,500 people.

Dr. Pierre-Jean Alet has been with CSEM since 2013 where he is now a senior expert. He coordinates the Energy systems research activity at CSEM. Dr. Alet leads the Digitial solar PV and grid working group of the European Technology and Innovation Platform – Photovoltaics (ETIP-PV) and is a member of the governing board of ETIP-SNET, the European Technology and Innovation Platform – Smart Networks for the Energy Transition. He is a senior member of IEEE. He also is a member of the EM-Power AWARD jury.

CSEM is a public-private, non-profit Swiss technology innovation center. CSEM enables competitiveness through innovation by developing and transferring world-class technologies for the industrial sector.

The International Exhibition for Energy Management and Integrated Energy Solutions
Learn more
Further Content
Webinar Collection
Demand-side flexibility in action: Real-world strategies for energy-intensive industries

May 5, 2026

free account

Webinar showing how flexibility can reduce energy costs and strengthen competitiveness.

Webinar Collection
Challenges of Low-Cost Hydrogen Production

May 12, 2026

free account

Free webinar on low-cost hydrogen production, covering costs, market trends and global developments.

Simon Evans, Akshat Rathi
Digitalizing the Grid to Meet Today’s Energy Crisis

The smarter E Podcast Episode 251 | Language: English

March 19, 2026

Learn how digital tools and electrification build resilient grids, featuring insights from Arup and Bloomberg experts on the future of energy.

The smarter E Europe Conferences 2026
From Market to Operation: Leveraging Forecasts for Predictive BESS Dispatch

Tuesday, June 23, 2026, 02:30 pm

The smarter E Europe Conferences 2026 | Conference Program

premium account

While predictive maintenance has become a well-known concept in battery energy storage, the next step is predictive operation. This approach aims not only to prevent failures, but also to continuously optimize system operation in real time. The goal is to maximize the performance, efficiency and lifetime of the existing hardware in each specific use case. Predictive operation extends beyond the battery cells themselves: Adaptive thermal management, intelligent inverter control and optimal coordination of power electronics all play a crucial role. By anticipating system behavior under different operating scenarios, predictive operation enables asset owners and operators to extract greater value from their storage systems while improving reliability and integration with renewable generation. This session will highlight the latest methods, control strategies and demonstration results that bring predictive operation from research into practice.

Battery Business & Development Forum
BESS Routes-to-Market in Europe: Merchant, Capacity, and Tolling — What Works Where

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 11:45am–1:00pm

premium account

This session breaks down the three dominant routes-to-market in Europe and examines where they work in practice, how they are structured, and what risks they carry.

You are using an outdated browser

The website cannot be viewed in this browser. Please open the website in an up-to-date browser such as Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.