--- title: Can a >6-hour BESS deliver attractive returns today? description: Can a >6-hour battery deliver a credible investment case in Sweden today? image: https://rivus-batteries.com/hubfs/Graphic.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://rivus-batteries.com/news-insights/can-6-hour-batteries-deliver-a-credible-investment-case-today#main-content) [![Rivus Batteries Inc.](https://rivus-batteries.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo.png?width=130&height=42&name=logo.png "Rivus Batteries Inc.")](https://rivus-batteries.com/) - [Technology](https://rivus-batteries.com/our-technology) - [Products](https://rivus-batteries.com/products) - [News](https://rivus-batteries.com/news-insights) - [About Us](https://rivus-batteries.com/about-us) - [Contact Us](https://rivus-batteries.com/contact-us) - [Technology](https://rivus-batteries.com/our-technology) - [Products](https://rivus-batteries.com/products) - [News](https://rivus-batteries.com/news-insights) - [About Us](https://rivus-batteries.com/about-us) - [Contact Us](https://rivus-batteries.com/contact-us) Follow Rivus [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/rivusab/) # Can a \>6-hour BESS deliver attractive returns today? [Andreas](https://rivus-batteries.com/news-insights/author/andreas) Oct 8, 2026, 4:14:12 AM ![Graphic](https://rivus-batteries.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Graphic.jpg?width=1080&height=1080&name=Graphic.jpg) *Our simulation of 26 commercial sites in SE3 and SE4 shows that \>6 hour battery energy storage systems can already achieve attractive payback in selected behind-the-meter applications - when several revenue streams are combined.* One of the questions we have been asking ourselves at Rivus is: Can a \>6-hour battery system show a credible investment case today, rather than only becoming relevant in a future energy system with more variable renewable energy production? To better understand this, we simulated whether a 150-kWh battery, with a C-rate of 0.167C, could support a credible behind-the-meter investment case in Sweden under 2024 and 2025 market conditions using real world data. We simulated 26 customer sites in price regions SE3 and SE4 and one finding stands out: in 2024 ~80% of battery value came from frequency containment reserves (FCR), while in 2025 the composition had shifted to roughly half from FCR, with the remainder coming from energy arbitrage and peak-fee reduction. This matters because the Swedish battery business case is still sometimes discussed mainly in terms of FCR/frequency regulation. Our results suggest a more nuanced picture and the strongest cases combined several sources of revenue and savings, and outcomes varied considerably between sites. To make the simulations we worked with a range of Swedish real-estate companies that provided a year of electricity consumption data and, where available, PV production from already installed solar panels in their building sites. Our Python-based simulation tool combined this with historic electricity prices, grid tariffs and potential revenue streams. Using linear programming, it identified an economically favourable hourly charging and discharging strategies. The simulations indicate a median simple payback of 6.3 - 8.2 years when adding a battery to an existing PV installation (“BESS retrofit”), and for those investing in both PV and a battery (“green field”), the range was 10.3 - 12.1 years. Within our dataset, commercial properties with meaningful peak-related grid fees and access to flexibility aggregation emerged as the strongest candidates for shortest payback time using 2024-2025 data. For these results we assumed a PV cost of €900/kW and a complete pilot battery CapEx of €400/kWh (which is substantially higher than Rivus’ future cost targets). The simulation uses historical prices known in advance, while simple payback excludes financing and detailed NPV and IRR calculations and it is important to note that these are simulated estimates, not guaranteed returns, as the electricity markets are constantly changing. Sweden is an interesting test case as it features some of the EU’s lowest non-household electricity prices. Markets with higher electricity price and/or greater price differences intra-day and intra-week likely offer more arbitrage potential and shorter payback times but this must of course be verified against local conditions. For Rivus, the practical insight and value is that clear customer selection and running the numbers really matters to identify where a \>6-hour battery can be profitable today and where more needs to be proven. Our open report presents the methodology, assumptions, customer cases, and limitations in more detail. Send an e-mail to [info@rivus-batteries.com](mailto:info@rivus-batteries.com)to get the full report. Feel free to share your feedback to help us improve our battery simulation work. The report and the simulations behind it was conducted as part of a Swedish Energy Agency funded project. 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