Breakthrough R&D/Innovation of the Year Award celebrates new thinking, technology, technical solutions, approaches to business that shook up the sector. This could be disruptive battery designs, smart responses to co-location challenges, scientific developments, innovative product and process designs or other such events. The award could be given to development teams at companies, individuals, university departments or similar.

The Challenge of the Year Award recognises individuals or companies that showed exceptional tenacity, resilience or strength in light of difficult circumstances when deploying or operating energy storage installations, whether in a single system or portfolio setting. This could have been due to technological challenges, regulatory obstacles, funding shortfalls, supply or personnel shortages, natural or man-made disasters. We are looking for exceptional problem-solvers active in the energy storage market.

The Developer of the Year category is designed to recognise companies that have been exemplary in their development of utility-scale battery energy storage systems over the past year. Companies should be sure to include examples of key projects they have developed, highlighting particular successes and innovative approaches to challenges.

Distributed Energy Storage Project of the Year Award is an opportunity to gain recognition for projects that are smaller than 1MW and that connect behind-the-meter rather than in front-of-the-meter. This could be an industrial battery storage project at a factory for example, or an aggregated residential virtual power plant or even vehicle-to-grid project. The key is to display project characteristics that are not only notable within the scope of the project, but also demonstrate potential for replicability at scale.

Amongst those embracing the potential offered by energy storage solutions are TSOs, DNOs and DSOs around Europe. Operators are working collaboratively to implement innovative solutions and pilots to help boost grid capacity and flexibility. The Grid Operator Project of The Year Award looks to recognise the operators working in new and exciting ways to add storage systems to their grid infrastructure. For this award, particular attention will be given to the case study and supporting documents that highlight how network operators have worked to trial and implement energy storage projects and the benefits they see within the tech.

Grid-scale Co-located or Hybrid Energy Storage Project of the Year Award will go to a project that demonstrates the perfect pairing of energy storage technology with generation. Whether that is solar PV, wind, another renewable energy technology or even ‘conventional’ power generation, judges want to see the best mix of technologies that exemplifies being even greater than the sum of its parts.

Grid-scale Standalone Energy Storage Project of the Year Award recognises a standalone energy storage system (ESS) project of over 1MW/1MWh which stands out in a sea of high-quality projects across Europe. Criteria are broad and entries will be judged across a variety of metrics: notable aspects could include being the first project in a new market, it could be the largest project in a region, a new application of energy storage technology and a smart business model to back it up. We welcome entries from diverse regions, companies and technologies.

Newcomer/Start-up of the Year Award is for individuals or companies, including pre-revenue startups, making a significant contribution to the sector. We are looking for new entrants who entered energy storage and hit the ground running, very quickly built a significant position among peers, gained a foothold in a new market, or who identified a niche with potential. This award celebrates market participants with fresh ideas, likely to shape the energy storage space.

Outstanding Contribution to Energy Storage Award will go to an individual that has dedicated significant time and effort to advancing the role of energy storage in the energy sector, and helped others to progress in the field either by direct tutorage or assistance, or through setting an example for others to follow.

The Product of the Year Award is for the best hardware solution, software application, component, service platform, or similar product that has been instrumental in supporting the contribution of the energy storage industry to the energy transition. We want to know which product has recently been the most influential, helpful, and trendsetting of them all.

The System Integrator of the Year category will evaluate the companies that offer the most efficient, effective and innovative integration of battery energy storage into the wider system. Particular consideration will be given to those utilising new technologies to tackle core challenges such as grid capacity.

Following a particularly volatile period in power prices, the Trading and Optimisation Team of the Year award will look to reward companies that have made the most of growing markets and record-high prices through effective strategies. This will include a broad look at revenue stacking and use of software for optimal management of battery energy storage assets.