Episode 866
866: Are Batteries the New Substations? | Wärtsilä’s Bold Vision for Grid-Scale Storage
Storage Isn’t Backup—It’s Infrastructure
Wildfires, heat waves, and AI-fueled data centers are pushing our grid to the edge. The question is no longer whether we need storage—it's whether we're going to unlock its full potential.
In this live episode from RE+, Nico is joined by two global leaders from Wärtsilä Energy—Tamara de Gruyter, President of Energy Storage, and David Hebert, VP of Global Sales & Strategy. Together, we unpack the evolution of batteries from “nice toys” to essential grid infrastructure.
Tamara brings her international lens to the US market, highlighting both the growing sophistication of customers and the urgent need for flexible, software-driven solutions. Meanwhile, Dave draws on a decade of global storage deployments—from Australia to Saudi Arabia—to explain how the U.S. can broaden focus on revenue models, regulation, and system design.
Expect to learn:
🔹 Why grid operators now treat batteries like substations
🔹 How data centers and AI are changing the storage equation
🔹 What “virtual inertia” really means—and why it matters
🔹 How US developers can learn from global storage markets
If you want to understand how batteries are shaping the future of energy reliability, this episode delivers both vision and practical insight.
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