Bidding Wars: Wärtsilä launches GEMS Pulse software to unlock hidden value in battery energy storage systems
In our Bidding Wars series, we will look at the BESS operators and optimizers that are playing (and winning) in the evolving energy market and grid services game.
Even small errors can drain big profits from a battery project. A 5% misreading in state of charge can cost roughly $10,000 per megawatt per year—translating to as much as $20 million in lost revenue over the lifetime of a 100-MW/2-hour energy storage system. Wärtsilä’s new GEMS Pulse aims to erase those inefficiencies.
The Finnish technology group unveiled its latest predictive analytics software this week, designed to turn raw cell-level data into real-time operational intelligence. The tool is built to help battery energy storage system (BESS) operators maximize performance, uptime, and revenue by uncovering capacity that often sits unused due to uncertainty in system health metrics.
“Batteries are fundamental to renewable energy integration and deliver real value, no matter how the market twists and turns or how policies evolve,” said Luke Witmer, Vice President of Energy Storage Software Engineering at Wärtsilä. “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.”
Turning battery data into revenue
Modern batteries generate thousands of data points every second. But operators rarely have the tools to interpret that information in a way that impacts daily dispatch or long-term asset health. GEMS Pulse bridges that gap by combining cell-to-fleet analytics, anomaly detection, and scenario forecasting in one interface.
Many energy storage asset owners leave up to 20% of total capacity untapped as a buffer against uncertainty in cell health or state-of-charge estimates. By providing high-confidence measurements of available energy, degradation, and cell imbalance, Wärtsilä’s new software helps operators reclaim that margin and operate with precision.
The platform continuously monitors for irregularities, flagging issues before they escalate into downtime or contractual underperformance. Operators can also use the system to simulate dispatch strategies, testing performance impacts under different cycle depths, power ratings, or temperature conditions—before implementing them in the field.
A tool built from a global fleet
GEMS Pulse leverages insights drawn from millions of operating cells and billions of hours of performance data across Wärtsilä’s global energy storage fleet. Those datasets are backed by the company’s two U.S. battery testing labs and its network of in-house PhDs specializing in electrochemistry and control systems.
Key features include:
- Forecasting tools that model how operational choices affect lifecycle cost and health
- Real-time tracking of asset performance against contractual guarantees
- Automated identification of underperforming components or cells
The software’s single dashboard consolidates what was previously fragmented across multiple systems, reducing the need for manual data interpretation.
“We built GEMS Pulse to solve the problems of today’s asset owners: asset availability, maximized 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.”
Proven results and early deployment
The system is already in active use by Wärtsilä’s internal energy performance services team, which manages a global BESS portfolio. To date, GEMS Pulse has optimized more than 9 GWh of battery capacity, improving uptime and state-of-charge accuracy across multiple markets.
By merging software, science, and scale, Wärtsilä is positioning GEMS Pulse as a key component of the company’s long-term storage ecosystem—one that aligns predictive analytics with performance guarantees to unlock the full economic potential of modern batteries.
