The JV transaction, which the company expects to close in the third quarter of this year, will have no material impact on profit and losses at closing, Wärtsilä said.
The transaction could also mark a new chapter for the energy storage business, the fate of which seemed to hang in the balance throughout an 18-month strategic review initiated by Wärtsilä’s leadership in October 2023 and concluded last May.
While all options had been on the table, including divestment, the company had chosen to hold onto a business it entered with the acquisition of US BESS integrator and energy management system (EMS) software specialist Greensmith Energy in 2017.
At the conclusion of the review, Wärtsilä had begun reporting the segment’s financial results separately for the first time and said it was committed to the future success of Wärtsilä Energy Storage and Optimisation (Wärtsilä ES&O) as it was now known.
However, ES&O head Andy Tang, a Greensmith alumnus, left the company shortly thereafter. Tamara De Gruyter, a 30-year employee of Wartsila, was appointed its president and was interviewed by ESN Premium in April.
