Technology group Wärtsilä has launched GEMS Pulse, a breakthrough predictive analytics solution designed to increase the financial and performance output of energy storage facilities. Batteries generate thousands of data points every second, yet operators often struggle to access and leverage this flood of information. GEMS Pulse solves this by transforming complex and largely inaccessible battery and operational data into actionable insights, enabling energy storage asset owners to make smarter asset usage decisions throughout the lifecycle of the system.
As global electricity demand surges and the shift to renewables accelerates, energy storage has become essential for grid stability. Batteries are a crucial component underpinning grid reliability—and their value is maximised when operated with precision. Even small inaccuracies can have a big impact: a 5 percent state-of-charge (SoC) error could result in annual revenue loss of approximately $10,000 per megawatt (MW). For a 100 MW / 2-hour energy storage system, that translates to up to $20 million of revenue loss over the project’s lifetime.
Many energy storage asset owners leave a significant portion of total capacity unused—often up to as much as 20%—as a buffer against uncertainty in cell health and available energy metrics. GEMS Pulse helps reclaim that margin by providing high-confidence measurements of available energy, cell imbalance, and degradation. With clearer visibility into system health, asset owners can operate with greater precision and confidence.
By continuously monitoring for anomalies, GEMS Pulse identifies potential issues before they impact availability—reducing downtime, lowering operational costs, and expanding capacity available for grid services.
GEMS Pulse also enhances operational flexibility by equipping operators with real-time data to simulate dispatch strategies and evaluate outcomes before deployment. Combined with flexible performance guarantees, operators can optimise battery usage for their strategic goals—with intelligence around constraints like cycles per day, depth of discharge, CP rating (continuous power rating), and operating temperature.
“Our industry is experiencing changes in policy and global trade. GEMS Pulse reduces risk and strengthens the long-term economics of clean energy. It gives customers real-time visibility and predictive intelligence so they can run their assets with confidence and speed,” said Luke Witmer, Vice President of Energy Storage Software Engineering at Wärtsilä. “Batteries are fundamental to renewable energy integration and deliver real value, no matter how the market twists and turns or how policies evolve.”
GEMS Pulse uses a single, intuitive interface for monitoring and managing complex energy storage systems that enhance grid reliability. Key features include:
- Forecasting tools that model how decisions impact long-term energy storage system health and cost
- Insights into how the asset is tracking against contractual guarantees
- Intelligent anomaly detection to pinpoint underperforming cells and components—helping asset owners act quickly and confidently to prevent failures
GEMS Pulse leverages a powerful tech stack that integrates insights from millions of operating batteries and billions of hours of performance data across Wärtsilä’s global energy storage fleet. Combined with the expertise of Wärtsilä’s in-house team of battery science PhDs, two U.S. labs for real-world battery behaviour testing, and real-time control of batteries in the field, the platform enables comprehensive asset optimisation.
“We built GEMS Pulse to solve the problems of today’s asset owners: asset availability, maximised capacity to meet rising energy demands, and the bottom line,” said Ruchira Shah, General Manager of Software Product Management for Energy Storage at Wärtsilä. “We are empowering customers to access and understand their own data. This is a meaningful competitive edge in a fast-changing energy market.”
GEMS Pulse is already in use by Wärtsilä’s own energy performance services team. To date, it has optimised over 9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery capacity within Wärtsilä’s portfolio, helping customers improve performance, uptime, and state-of-charge accuracy. With GEMS Pulse, Wärtsilä is setting a new standard for battery analytics—combining science, software, and scale to deliver unmatched value to asset owners.
