Battery storage optimization and investment infrastructure

What is BESS arbitrage optimization?

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) arbitrage involves charging a battery when electricity prices are low — typically during off-peak night or midday hours — and discharging it when prices are high, usually during morning or evening demand peaks. On the Ukrainian Day-Ahead Market (DAM) and Intraday Market (IDM), price spreads between off-peak and peak hours can exceed 10,000 UAH/MWh, creating substantial revenue opportunities for well-operated storage assets.

The Wesfin v3 optimizer evaluates two candidate cycle patterns daily — Night→Morning and Day→Evening — selecting the one that maximizes net profit after accounting for round-trip efficiency losses (91.3% combined), LFP cell degradation cost, transaction fees, and execution slippage. If neither cycle meets the minimum net spread threshold, the optimizer holds the asset idle rather than cycling at a loss.

How does the Wesfin optimizer work?

The optimizer runs on a 36-hour rolling horizon, ingesting DAM auction results from OREE and available IDM data. It constructs an hourly dispatch schedule that respects the asset's SoC band (15%–85% in standard mode, corresponding to 112.34 MWh of usable energy on a 160.48 MWh nameplate asset), a 40 MW power cap, and the battery's degradation curve from the manufacturer's cycle-life model (8,000+ cycles rated, 0.25C reference conditions). Each cycle is classified by depth of discharge and assigned a per-MWh degradation cost accordingly. Only cycles with a positive net spread above the minimum profitability threshold are executed.

LFP battery technology and asset longevity

The Prohresivka asset uses Cornex lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells in a liquid-cooled 20ft container format. LFP chemistry is preferred for grid-scale storage because of its superior cycle life, thermal stability, and safety profile compared to NMC or NCA alternatives. At 8,000+ rated cycles and 0.25C reference conditions, the manufacturer degradation model projects 80.5% state-of-health at year 10 — meaning the asset retains the majority of its capacity well beyond the typical 10-year investment horizon. The Wesfin platform tracks actual degradation against this curve in real time, updating the optimizer's cost model continuously.

Ukrainian energy market context

Ukraine's electricity market operates under a day-ahead auction (DAM) administered by OREE, with an intraday market (IDM) for adjustment trading. Price volatility is substantial — the spread between the cheapest and most expensive hours on a single day can exceed 1,300× (from 11 UAH/MWh to 13,767 UAH/MWh on 2026-04-14). This extreme intraday volatility creates the conditions that make grid-scale battery storage highly profitable, provided the dispatch algorithm correctly models all costs and avoids cycling on weak spreads.

Investment layer structure

Wesfin structures asset ownership through a layered investment model that mirrors the physical architecture of the BESS — from individual LFP cells ($368 per cell, $366/kWh) up through battery racks, containers, MV power stations, and the full system ($40.12M for 160.48 MWh at $249.90/kWh). This structure allows investors to participate at a scale appropriate to their capital allocation, with all layers sharing the same real-time performance visibility and revenue attribution through the investor portal.