Blunomy brief: November 2025
Scaling real solutions: Vincent Kientz in conversation with Reed’s Julien Touati
Blunomy's co-founder Vincent Kientz met with Julien Touati to discuss the challenges of infrastructure investing for the transition.
Across the energy and climate transition, one challenge dominates: scale. Proven solutions already exist, and the task now is deploying them widely and profitably. That was the focus of a recent discussion between Vincent KIENTZ , Blunomy’s co-founder, and Julien Touati , CEO of Reed - Societe Generale Group. Reed is a real leader in transition infrastructure investing, combining technology and infrastructure expertise to scale real, proven solutions and deliver robust returns.
“For the energy transition, there is one big word, which is scaling,” said Touati. “You have many investments that have to be made using new technologies and new business models. It’s a lot to deal with for financial investors when the underlying assets are scattered, new, and long dated.”
Reed’s approach, he explained, is to “bundle all these small assets, gather expertise, and make the right technological choices to make these investments bankable.” Infrastructure and technology, he added, must now go hand in hand: “If you simply do as if this is not a risk, you miss the opportunity to not only capture the value created by new technology but to mitigate the risks that come with your investments.”
Scaling, he argued, depends as much on people as on capital. “You need expertise, you need people ... you need to invest in corporate entities alongside investing in the assets.”
Blunomy and Reed have collaborated to strengthen how investors measure and value transition impact. “There is a sort of fatigue in relation to the myriad of indicators, assessments, tick-the-box exercises that investors are going through,” said Touati. The concept of social return on investment that Blunomy and Reed have developed together helps understand impact in a more focussed, pragmatic way “You aggregate everything and you can say, okay, for each euro I invest, I will create this value for society.” As Kientz put it, “Both Reed and Blunomy try to focus on the right solutions – helping them grow, and helping them prove their impact.”
A fuller article on the interview and some video highlights will be released soon: keep your eyes out for more!
Battery storage: Asia’s next frontier for energy security and transition value
An excerpt of Blunomy's recent analysis of Asian grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) markets. (source: Blunomy analysis)
Across Asia, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are fast becoming a strategic enabler of both decarbonisation and energy security. They provide the flexibility needed to integrate renewables, stabilise grids, and enhance system reliability, but the pace of investment and deployment varies sharply across the region.
Blunomy’s recent assessment finds the Philippines and Japan leading the early wave, supported by open markets, evolving balancing mechanisms, and targeted policy incentives. In the Philippines, batteries now participate actively in energy and reserve markets, with projects such as the 60 MW Limay BESS demonstrating viable stacked-revenue models. Japan’s balancing-market reforms and long-term contracts are improving project bankability and supporting a growing pipeline.
Elsewhere, Thailand and Vietnam face slower progress. Regulatory gaps, single-buyer structures, and limited merchant access continue to constrain standalone storage. Pilot projects are testing market reforms, but broader policy clarity will be needed before large-scale investment can follow.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that the Asia-Pacific region will account for nearly half of global grid-scale storage additions by 2030 — a potential 150 GW of new capacity. That trajectory will depend less on technology costs, which are already falling, and more on how effectively markets recognise and reward flexibility.
For policymakers, that means evolving pricing and dispatch frameworks. For investors, it means identifying where market reform and system need are converging fastest — the real frontier for growth.
Green pulse
Recent deals and market developments that have caught our eye.
⚡ Flexibility | Pearl Infrastructure Capital acquires majority in Energy Pool: PEARL Infrastructure Capital (a member of the Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity partnership) has taken a majority stake in ENERGY POOL, one of Europe’s leading flexibility and energy-optimisation platforms. Blunomy supported Pearl with commercial and strategic due diligence on the deal.
- The partnership combines capital and platform capabilities to expand flexible-asset aggregation and grid-balancing services.
- This deal is a clear signal that flexibility is now recognised as a critical source of value as well as an enabler of the energy transition: a driver of investment-grade growth in a transforming electricity system..
🔋 Grid infrastructure & tariffs | France defines “injection–withdrawal” zones under TURPE 7: France’s energy regulator CRE has confirmed the zones in which special tariff structures are applicable under TURPE 7, effective Aug 2026, distinguishing between injection (renewable-rich) and withdrawal (demand-heavy) areas for storage and DERs.
- Tariffs will incentivise batteries to absorb excess generation in injection zones and discharge during peaks in withdrawal zones.
- Previous analysis by Blunomy suggested a likely single-digits bump to project IRRs for grid-scale batteries. We'll be revisiting that analysis in the coming months!
🌾 Biomethane | Capital flows accelerate in Europe & UK: This year's robust flow of deals on biomethane continued in October,a sign that bio-fuels infrastructure is entering its scale-up phase.
- Verdalia Bioenergy (Goldman Sachs) raised €671M for projects in Spain and Italy.
- ReFuels N.V secured £25M debt for its UK Bio-CNG network.
- Arjun Infrastructure Partners increased its stake in Danish developer Bigadan, supporting continued expansion and integration of new carbon capture tech.
☀️ Capacity markets | Italy’s MACSE storage auction clears at lower-than-expected prices: Terna SpA’s first MACSE capacity auction (securing 10 GWh of storage capacity) closed at a weighted average €12,959 /MWh-yr, well below the ceiling price of €37,000. Fifteen projects in southern Italy and islands were awarded, although one has since withdrawn.
Blunomy news
- The Blunomy team had a busy October, with multiple event appearances. One of the highlights was a Vienna trip that saw our CEO Sebastien Guillo talk about how ESG is evolving for financial institutions.
- Our co-founder and Chair Isabelle Kocher de Leyritz will be giving a keynote at Enlit Europe on 18 Nov, followed by a panel session discussing the challenge facing the energy sector in switching from a passive infra approach to the more active role needed to deliver the energy transition. Blunomy will have a few other key people in attendance along with the Vision team: don't hesitate to reach out to Paul Faraggi, Olivier Lacroix, and Jérôme Briend if you're attending.
We've a few other events coming up too: keep your eye on our feed for more