Markus Vlasits, president of the Brazilian Association of Energy Storage Solutions (Absae), was included by Full Energy magazine in its “100 Most Influential in Energy” selection, which brings together leaders working in public policy, innovation and the development of Brazil’s power sector. Absae announced the recognition on February 25, 2026. In his interview with the publication, he shared his view of the power system’s bottlenecks and the priorities for storage to gain ground in the country’s energy planning.
The problems the energy transition is already exposing
According to Vlasits, the effects of the expansion of intermittent renewable sources are no longer a projection and now show up in day-to-day operation. He highlighted three main symptoms:
- Rising curtailment: clean, cheap energy that goes unused because the grid or demand cannot absorb it at the time of generation.
- Power shortfall at the evening peak: when solar generation fades at the end of the day, the system needs resources capable of meeting peak consumption.
- Greater vulnerability to disturbances: a grid with more variable sources tends to be more sensitive to events that affect its stability.
The Absae president also mentioned the difficulties faced by a growing number of renewable energy companies. In his assessment, storage is the only technology that can tackle curtailment and the lack of power at the same time, while also supporting system stability, with the advantage of fast deployment.
In practice, a battery energy storage system (BESS) can charge during hours of surplus generation and discharge during peak demand, shifting energy in time. It can also respond within fractions of a second to grid fluctuations, making it a natural candidate to provide system support services.
Absae’s priority agenda
In the interview, Vlasits pointed to a set of fronts he considers decisive for the coming years:
- Regulatory improvement, so that storage is treated in a structured way in the sector’s rules.
- Appropriate economic signals for contracting capacity and ancillary services.
- Predictability, a condition for attracting investment and speeding up project implementation.
Contracting capacity means paying a resource for being available to deliver power when the system needs it, not only for the energy actually sold. Ancillary services, in turn, are functions that support grid operation, such as frequency and voltage control, keeping the grid stable. Without clear remuneration rules for these functions, the business model for batteries remains incomplete.
Why the recognition matters for the sector
The inclusion of a storage representative in a list of power sector leaders signals that the topic has gained weight in the national debate. Absae has sought to position batteries not as an optional add-on, but as part of the solution to the operational challenges that renewable expansion itself has created. The association describes the moment as decisive for the technology’s progress in Brazil.
What changes in practice for those working with BESS
The recognition does not change rules or create immediate procurement, but it reinforces the line of argument the market has been taking to regulators and planners. For each link in the chain, the points to watch are:
- Developers: gain support to advocate for capacity and ancillary service remuneration mechanisms, but project viability remains dependent on regulatory progress.
- EPCs: should follow the definition of the rules, since deployment speed is one of the main arguments in favor of batteries and will need to be proven when demand emerges.
- Manufacturers and suppliers: the signal of predictability is the factor that will allow them to plan supply and presence in the country with greater confidence.
Until these adjustments materialize, the recommended approach is to structure projects and technical studies so that they can respond quickly once the economic signals are defined.
Original source: ABSAE — Presidente da Absae é destaque na Revist Full Energy, “100 Mais Influentes da Energia”, e reforça papel estratégico do armazenamento