Principal Analyst - BESS & Energy Markets

Principal Analyst – BESS & Energy Markets

London Hybrid, 3 days

Requires 4+ years’ experience in an analytical role in energy storage, renewables or power markets.

Description

As Principal Analyst, you’ll own the economics layer of Benchmark’s battery energy storage offering: what BESS projects cost, how they earn money, and how that shapes deployment by market and use case. You’ll oversee our BESS system pricing tool and project economics models, set our house view through the quarterly BESS Forecast, and lead the work of junior team members.

You’ll also bring power markets and renewables expertise to the BESS team, owning our view of the wider energy mix and connecting grid conditions, market design and renewables build-out to storage demand. Close collaboration with our battery cost, technology and gigafactory teams will assist your work.

You will also support our consultancy arm, contributing to bespoke advisory projects for developers, utilities, battery and system OEMs, financial institutions and government bodies. Alongside our consultants, you’ll build investment and financial models. Day to day, that means regular conversations with the analyst team, direct contact with industry players, and gathering and evaluating public data.

We’re looking for someone curious about global energy storage and power markets, who is self-motivated, manages their own time well, and wants to help us grow our knowledge and products.

You’ll have the chance to travel, build your profile as a recognised authority on energy storage, meet senior leaders across the supply chain, and regularly speak with and be quoted by leading media organisations.

Key responsibilities

• Building networks across the global BESS, power and renewables sectors, including developers, IPPs, utilities, integrators, OEMs and lenders.
• Translating Benchmark’s lithium-to-cell price forecasts into BESS system capex.
• Developing Benchmark’s BESS project economics models, covering capex, opex, revenue streams and returns (LCOS, IRR) across key markets.
• Owning Benchmark’s view of BESS revenue streams and the wider energy mix, and their link to storage demand.
• Tracking tariffs, local-content rules and subsidy schemes, and their impact on project costs and sourcing.
• Overseeing and supporting delivery of consulting and advisory engagements.
• Mentoring junior team members within the BESS team.
• Working with the wider team to develop new business and expand our client base.
• Speaking to media and at industry events and forums.

Requirements

• 4+ years’ experience in an analytical role in energy storage, renewables or power markets (research, consulting, developer, utility or infrastructure investment).
• Strong capex and project finance modelling: bottom-up cost and cash-flow models (LCOS, IRR, NPV) built from scratch.
• Knowledge of BESS revenue models in at least one major market (e.g. ERCOT/CAISO, GB, Germany, Australia’s NEM, China).
• Understanding of BESS system architecture and the main cost components.
• Management capabilities: able to oversee and coordinate research among the analyst team.
• Analytical mindset, with a drive to deepen personal and company knowledge of the industry.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel/PowerPoint skills and confident, everyday use of AI tools in research and modelling. Experience with Thinkcell, VBA, SQL and Python would be beneficial.
• Naturally organised and self-motivated individual.
• Good communication skills: able to explain cost and market dynamics to the internal team, external clients and media.
• Comfortable working within the start-up culture and mentality of Team Benchmark, which can require continuing to operate and undertake day-to-day duties while travelling across the world.

Desirable

• Experience with power price or dispatch modelling, or with renewables capacity forecasting.
• Familiarity with battery supply chains and cell chemistry (LFP, NMC, sodium-ion).
• Experience building or managing a commercial data product.
• Degree in engineering, economics, finance or a related quantitative field.

Benefits include

• Competitive Salary
• 25 Days Holiday (fixed) + 1 day off for your Birthday
• 2 Mental health days per year
• Statutory Pension Contribution
• Salary Sacrifice
• Staff social events