Balkan Battery Day proved that the region needs reliability first and Hi-MO ONE Pro delivers it

The first-ever Balkan Battery Day took place in Athens on 21 May 2026, and the energy in the room matched the ambition of the region it represented. LONGi Solar was proud to be part of it, both as a sponsor and as an active voice in the conversation.

Rapidly growing renewable capacity drives an urgent demand for grid flexibility and regional battery storage

The Balkans region is at a turning point. South-East Europe is no longer on the periphery of the energy storage discussion. Across Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and beyond, renewable capacity is growing faster than grids can absorb it. The result is a pressing, structural need for flexibility, and battery energy storage is increasingly the answer developers, utilities and investors are reaching for.

That tension, between the scale of the opportunity and the complexity of delivering on it, ran through every discussion at Balkan Battery Day, a senior-level conference bringing together representatives from across the industry. Conversations covered market readiness, regulatory frameworks, grid access, financing structures and the practicalities of co-locating storage with solar and wind.  The high level of professional participation highlighted the growing importance of the regional market.

LONGi outlines system integration strategies and introduces Hi-MO ONE Pro for hybrid applications

One of the central themes running through the day was the question of how storage integrates with renewables at a system level, and it was precisely this debate that brought Athanasios Plainos, Country Manager for Greece & Cyprus at LONGi, onto the panel. Drawing on his experience across the Greek market, where regulatory momentum and pipeline activity are accelerating hand in hand, Athanasios examined how storage fits into the wider energy system, from co-location strategies to ancillary services and the regional outlook to 2030.

‍We discussed the real impact BESS is having on renewable project economics, the strategic importance of stronger grid interconnection across the Balkans, and the need to push further on technology adoption. The momentum in this region is real, and the frameworks need to catch up," said Plainos.

The conversation on long-term partnerships was taken further by Luca Pasqualini, Technical Solutions Manager at LONGi Storage, who explored what it really means to commit to a project beyond warranties and spec sheets. His presentation was also the first opportunity to introduce Hi-MO One Pro to a Balkans audience. Hi-MO One Pro is engineered for hybrid solar and storage applications, and in projects where performance degradation, bankability and operational reliability are critical to financing and long-term returns, it is designed to deliver on all three.

High-level industry exchanges help turn regional project pipelines into active energy partnerships

The inaugural edition of the event demonstrated a substantial project pipeline and strong investor appetite across the region as regulatory frameworks develop. The regional market benefits significantly from direct, high-level exchanges that translate market awareness into active project partnerships and physical installations.

For LONGi, participating in these regional forums ensures active involvement in the frameworks shaping energy storage deployment. This presence helps ensure that as regional projects move from planning to construction, the implemented technological choices support long-term grid reliability.