Finnish technology group Wärtsilä and German engineering company RCT Solutions have launched Valo, a 50/50 joint venture combining Wärtsilä’s global energy storage business with RCT’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
Launched on October 1, Valo will operate as a utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator with more than 20 GWh of projects across over 130 installations worldwide. Peter Fath, former CEO of RCT Solutions, is serving as Valo’s CEO, while Luke Witmer has been appointed chief technology officer.
Wärtsilä expects the new company to remain loss-making through 2026 because of weak recent order intake and restructuring costs, including a write-down of capitalized research and development expenses.
The impact on Wärtsilä’s 2026 operating result is estimated at €40–50 million, depending on the timing of the transaction. The company expects the joint venture to become profitable toward the end of 2027.
Wärtsilä said its energy storage business had about 480 employees and generated €694 million in net sales in 2025, with an operating margin of 3.3%. Its year-end order book stood at €719 million.
