EP.271 - Flexibility, Batteries and the Future of Europe’s Power System

This week on Energy Unplugged, Jesse Hetema, Aurora’s Head of the Netherlands and Belgium, is joined by Simon Bushell, Founder and CEO of Sympower, to explore why flexibility has become a critical pillar of Europe’s energy transition. They discuss how rising price volatility, negative prices and grid congestion are shifting the focus from pure decarbonisation towards system resilience, and why demand-side response and batteries are now essential to keeping renewable-heavy power systems stable and investable. Simon founded Sympower in 2015 and has grown the company into a leading provider of flexibility services across Europe, with a strong presence in the Nordics and Greece. Drawing on his experience working with industrial customers, he explains how flexibility is unlocked in practice – from identifying low-cost demand-side opportunities to optimising batteries across multiple markets – and why digital platforms, advanced dispatch and supportive regulation are key to scaling flexibility across Europe. Listeners will also hear how tools like Aurora’s Flex subscription help market participants understand flexibility opportunities and price dynamics, and how CHRONOS supports the optimisation and valuation of battery assets across volatile power markets. You will learn: Why flexibility is now essential to Europe’s power system, as congestion and curtailment become structural challenges. How flexibility services and BESS optimisation generate value across multiple European power markets. What storage owners and large energy users need to get right to maximise multi-market revenues from flexibility. How market design, grid constraints, and regional differences are shaping the future of flexibility at scale in Europe. Registration for the leading annual gathering of the European energy industry – the Aurora Spring Forum, taking place on 29th April 2026, in London is open - a one-day deep dive into the biggest strategic questions shaping Europe’s energy transition, plus top-tier networking and a live recording of Energy Unplugged. Book now at and use code PODCAST20 for 20% off.

You can listen to EP.271 - Flexibility, Batteries and the Future of Europe’s Power System online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

EP.271 - Flexibility, Batteries and the Future of Europe’s Power System is an episode from Energy Unplugged by Aurora Energy Research.

This episode is 31:00 long.

This episode was published on Jan 6, 2026.

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