Show Notes
Battery markets have a pattern: They boom, capital floods in, prices collapse, and then the cycle starts again.
So as storage becomes more important than ever, how do we maximize revenue and deliver needed flexibility?
In this episode, Stephen Lacey speaks with Sean McEvoy, chief product officer and head of commercial at GridBeyond North America, about how that cycle is playing out across global power markets — and what happens when batteries stop being scarce.
As markets saturate, the source of value begins to shift. It’s no longer just about building assets. It’s about how precisely you can forecast, optimize, and trade them.
GridBeyond sits between energy assets and energy markets, using AI to coordinate everything from industrial loads to battery fleets. It is increasingly bringing that model to data centers.
These facilities are driving a surge in electricity demand, but they also introduce a new tension. The grid increasingly needs flexible loads, but data centers are built for reliability, not interruption.
The result is a wave of new approaches, from behind-the-meter batteries to “bring your own capacity” strategies that pair infrastructure with grid support.
Learn more about how GridBeyond develops AI software that helps businesses unlock flexibility in their energy systems.
More from Catalyst with Shayle Kann
As data center-driven load growth continues to rise, hyperscalers are turning to natural gas – both in front of and behind the meter — to secure power. But whether the natural gas pipeline system has the bandwidth to support this surging demand remains far from certain.
Of all the concerns surrounding the AI boom, data center water usage tops the list. Opponents claim that massive hyperscaler facilities threaten local drinking supplies and drain aquifers. Proponents say data centers use a negligible amount of water, at least compared to agriculture or conventional power generation sources.
It’s been a wild few years for grid-scale batteries in Texas. At the start of the decade, the Lone Star State was home to roughly 200 megawatts of battery capacity. Today, that number has skyrocketed to seventeen gigawatts…with at least five more gigawatts expected to come online by the end of 2026.
This is a partner episode, brought to you by Bloom Energy.
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