German BESS Performance Review: 2025 Results

PortfolioEnergy-optimised virtual BESS performs strongly against German market benchmarks

The 2025 performance cycle for grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Germany has concluded. Here is how a PortfolioEnergy-optimised virtual BESS performed against available benchmarks.

2-Hour BESS Segment Performance (1 and 2 cycles/day)

2025 Performance Data for Germany

Germany — 1 cycle/day

A 2-hour virtual BESS using PortfolioEnergy's commercial platform achieved ±110 k€/MW/a.

Energy-only (day-ahead and intraday) at 5-minute trading frequency, with no ancillary service revenue. A conservative longer-term estimate that takes the drying up of ancillary markets into account.

Annual Revenue

Unit: k€/MW/a (= €/kW/a)
PortfolioEnergy1
110
LF Energy RTC-Tools (day-ahead only)2
77

Germany — 2 cycles/day

A 2-hour virtual BESS using PortfolioEnergy's commercial platform achieved ±240 k€/MW/a.

Full-stack co-optimisation across day-ahead, intraday, FCR and aFRR, with the optimiser re-running every 5 seconds. An order-of-magnitude indication of the revenue achievable in the shorter term while ancillary markets remain lucrative.

Annual Revenue

Unit: k€/MW/a (= €/kW/a)
PortfolioEnergy1
237
LF Energy RTC-Tools (day-ahead only)2
89

1Round-trip efficiency of 90%. Computed using Montel forecasts and EPEX order book data. Auctions cleared with settled prices. Intraday continuous trading was simulated by introducing a delay (order book time) between accessing the order book and matching orders.

2LF Energy RTC-Tools, day-ahead price taking. Open-source implementation.

To obtain a backtest with the specifics of a particular asset with the PortfolioEnergy optimiser, please contact us at info@portfolioenergy.com.

Transparency

Germany has no public BESS performance benchmarks. Australia's NEM is the opposite: the system operator (AEMO) publishes dispatch data for every utility-scale BESS at 5-minute granularity, allowing like-for-like comparison on every dispatch decision. See our 2025 Australian results and NEM comparison dashboard.

That transparency provides an order-of-magnitude cross-check on our European numbers at 1 cycle per day. The best-performing 2-hour assets in New South Wales and Victoria — whose revenue is publicly verifiable — earned roughly 190 kA$/MW/a and 134 kA$/MW/a. At the 2025 average rate of ±0.58 EUR/AUD the top New South Wales asset converts to ±110 k€/MW/a, closely matching our German 1-cycle result. Our own Australian backtests (217 kA$ in New South Wales, 153 kA$ in Victoria) convert to ±126 k€ and ±89 k€ — suggesting that our German 1-cycle figures are consistent with verifiable Australian outcomes. The 2-cycle scenario goes beyond what NEM assets typically run, so no direct public cross-check exists.

Order book scope

The intraday continuous results above use only the German EPEX order book. Cross-border XBID liquidity from neighbouring bidding zones was not included, so live trading outcomes can reasonably be expected to be higher than the figures shown here.

Asset-backed trading

Our benchmark results reflect pure asset-backed trades only — every position is physically backed by the battery's state of charge and operational constraints. No speculative proprietary trading is mixed into these figures. This means the revenues shown are achievable by the asset alone, without taking on unhedged market risk.

High-frequency trading

The results above were produced with the optimiser re-running every 5 seconds. In live operation, revenues can be lifted further by reacting to individual order book updates in real time. This regime is out of scope for backtesting: faithfully simulating a full year of order-book-driven decisions would be computationally prohibitive — in the worst case it would take exactly a year of wall-clock time to replay.

For the most realistic revenue estimate on your particular asset, we recommend a live shadow run: PortfolioEnergy trades a virtual copy of your battery alongside your existing setup, with full real-time order-book reactivity, so you can compare against your incumbent without committing the asset. Get in touch to set one up.

Why PortfolioEnergy Delivers Leading Performance

PortfolioEnergy's optimisation platform combines advanced mathematical optimisation with real-time market intelligence and robust risk management. Our approach delivers strong performance in both day-ahead and intraday markets.

Real-Time Adaptation

Continuously adapts to changing market conditions, price forecasts, and plant constraints to maximise revenue while managing risk.

Advanced Optimisation

Leverages probabilistic forecasting, nonlinear physical modelling, and market impact analysis for superior decision-making.

Risk Management

Proactive identification and mitigation of operational and market risks to prevent costly events that can significantly impact annual performance.

Multi-Market Trading

Intelligent co-optimisation across day-ahead and intraday markets to maximise total revenue from price volatility.

Interested in learning more about how PortfolioEnergy can optimise your BESS assets? Contact us at info@portfolioenergy.com to discuss your requirements.