Next big energy trade is mega batteries for Europe’s excess power

Improving technology: Batteries at the Energy Vault Calistoga Resiliency Centre in Calistoga, California. Utility-scale batteries are similar in size and appearance to shipping containers, often located near where large amounts of renewable power hit grids. — Bloomberg

LONDON: Three years ago, Castleton Commodities International (CCI) analysts huddled in their London office to discuss how to make money from a growing phenomenon in the European power market – negative prices.

The dislocated markets and sharp price swings they saw are exactly the type of conditions that commodity traders like CCI thrive on.