2026 Energy Series | Energy Storage Systems

Energy Storage Systems – A game-changer?

4:00-6:00pm, Thursday 2 July, The Tauranga Club

Energy storage is the first event in the Our Energy Future series. It will offer organisations a practical way to strengthen energy resilience and flexibility. Energy storage provides the ability to use energy in different ways and at different times, providing greater flexibility – for example, battery systems enabling off-peak use of electricity.

Spanning electrical, electrochemical, chemical, and mechanical technologies, it enables smarter use of energy, supports cost optimisation, and unlocks greater integration of sustainable energy sources.

We will hear from a range of speakers about how to take the next steps toward a more resilient and diversified approach to energy storage within your business. Expect insights that focus on what can be implemented now to improve reliability, long-term risk and create lasting value.

Topics & speakers:

• Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)

  BESS applications and architectures. When does BESS make sense?

  • Nikk King – MD, Active Power & Control

  • Eric Wolters – Engineering Advisor Business Development at Powerco and freelance consultant

• Battery Fire Risk – Kevin Weller, Senior Associate Fire Engineer at Beca & Ben Hume, Regional Manager, Beca

  Fire is often raised  as a concern with lithium ion batteries, with BESS fires and electric vehicles having received plenty of media attention. Kevin and Ben will be shedding light on battery fires, what causes them, regulatory and asset risks, and how to mitigate them.

• Thermal Energy Storage – Hendri Barnard, Associate – Process Engineering, Beca

  Thermal energy storage (TES) can shift heating and cooling loads, cut peak demand, and enable greater use of renewables. This session gives a practical overview of current TES options, where they make sense, how to build a robust business case, and the technical considerations that determine success.

• Industrial Heat Upgrade – Adeline Bartoletti, CEO & Founder, Kelvius

  Kelvius captures exhaust streams and upgrades them into reusable high-temperature energy of up to 350°C. This novel technology offers real benefit to industrial process heat users.
  

What's the 2026 Energy Series?

A practical learning series bringing together businesses to learn from energy specialists, explore cost‑efficient solutions, and take action to optimise costs, strengthen resilience and plan confidently for the future.

The series aligns with the work of the Energy Leadership Group (ELG) and the development of the Western Bay of Plenty’s regional energy strategy. The series will include workshops on topics such as biomass, transport & logistics, and more. Alongside specialist insights, we’ll seek your input to help shape the topics discussed so they reflect your business priorities and real‑world needs.

This session is also about connection. You'll have the opportunity to engage with peers, industry experts and innovators, helping to accelerate your energy strategy.

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Learn more about Priority One's energy work.

This series is bought to you by Priority One, EMA, EECA, Beca and the Energy Leadership Group (ELG).

SPEAKER BIOS:

Hendri Barnard is an Associate Process Engineer with experience delivering Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) studies, Decarbonisation Concept studies, and Emissions Reduction Pathways for clients across New Zealand. Through this work, he has developed a solid understanding of New Zealand’s energy markets and the industrial energy, engineering, and carbon landscape.

Adeline Bartoletti is an industrial and scale-up engineer with 20 years of experience, including 12 years working on active sites across the European industrial sector. She has led integration projects across the full project lifecycle — from front-end design and procurement through to site commissioning — on technologies including carbon capture systems and CHP units at facilities like Bayer, Ahlstrom, and municipal clients in France. As CEO of Kelvius, she applies that operational background to develop heat upgrade technology built around the real constraints of industrial sites: operator workloads, safety regulations, and spatial limitations.

Ben Hume is the Bay of Plenty Regional Manager at Beca. With a background in fire engineering, Ben brings deep technical insight into the physical impacts of fire and human behaviour in emergency scenarios, built through extensive experience on complex projects in New Zealand and internationally.

Nikk King, from Active Power & Controls, has had 25+ years of experience in control systems engineering and project delivery. He specialises in the supply and delivery of BESS and Micro Grid applications.

Kevin Weller is a senior associate fire engineer at Beca, with a particular interest in emerging technologies and breaking down the potential risks and benefits these offer. He has consulted widely with designers and regulators in the buildings industry, including recent involvement helping to develop industry guidance on the risks posed by lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles. Kevin has a good understanding of New Zealand regulatory environment. His experience in construction monitoring and commissioning of active and passive fire safety systems is reflected in buildability considerations in his designs. Kevin’s experience spans a most building sectors, including industrial, commercial, healthcare and education.

Eric Wolters is a seasoned electrical engineer with more than 40 years of technical and managerial experience across an extensive range of power generation, transmission and distribution technologies and organisations. He works for Powerco part time and undertakes private consulting assignments in his spare time, specialising in renewable generation technologies and connection assets.