Interview

SAJ CEO Ouyang Discusses European C&I Storage Growth & ‘Elekeeper’ VPP Strategy

At The smarter E Europe, Julia Z. Pohl, Director of Research Operations at EUPD Group, speaks with Samil Ouyang, CEO & Chairman of SAJ. They explore the dynamics of the European energy storage market, focusing on residential and C&I segments, and SAJ's strategic positioning as an energy service provider.

Interviewer · EUPD Group
Julia Z. Pohl
Director Research Operations · EUPD Group
Guest · SAJ
Samil Ouyang
CEO & Chairman · SAJ
Filmed ·Runtime 07:04Interview ·
Interview
The smarter E Europe 2026 · Munich
07:04
Filmed on site · No editorial direction beyond question set · Captions auto-generated, reviewed by EUPD Group

Key takeaways

4 points · 07:04 video
  1. C&I Outpaces Residential Growth
    Samil Ouyang, CEO & Chairman of SAJ, observes stronger growth in the European C&I energy storage segment, estimated at 30-50%. In contrast, the residential market shows more stable growth of 10-15%, with some countries experiencing slight declines.
  2. SAJ's 'Elekeeper' Vision
    SAJ positions itself as an 'Elekeeper'—an electricity keeper and energy service provider, with its AI All-in-One platform for intelligent energy management. This strategy aims to support the virtual power plant (VPP) trend across both residential and C&I sectors.
  3. Integrated End-to-End Solutions
    SAJ provides comprehensive solutions that include DC inverters, batteries, BMS, and software, all developed in-house. The company also integrates a broad ecosystem of partners, including distributors, installers, and energy operators.
  4. Future Focus on Business Model Realization
    SAJ is developing Elekeeper 6.0 to operationalize its energy service provider model, focusing on practical business integration with VPP aggregators and partners. The company also plans to introduce new technologies like distributed AI for enhanced energy efficiency.

Market Dynamics in European Energy Storage

Samil Ouyang, CEO & Chairman of SAJ, shared observations on the European energy storage market, highlighting distinct trends in the residential and C&I segments. According to Ouyang, the residential sector exhibits stable growth of 10-15%, characterizing it as a "healthy market" that grows organically rather than rapidly. Some countries, such as Germany, have even experienced a slight downturn. In contrast, Ouyang identifies the C&I segment as a significant growth driver, reporting an estimated growth rate of 30-50%. He acknowledges the C&I market's complexity due to varied application scenarios and requirements, yet affirms its critical role in deployment.

"Considering residential, I think it's growing. But not growing that fast. It's stable. I think maybe before the war between America and Iran, I think the increase rate would be less than maybe 10%. But now it's maybe 10 to 15%. So I don't think it's a big increase. Even some countries like Germany, are a little bit down. But in fact for us, that's a healthy market." Ouyang · 00:43

SAJ's 'Elekeeper' Strategy and Ecosystem Integration

SAJ positions itself as an "Elekeeper"—an electricity keeper and energy service provider—to align with the virtual power plant (VPP) trend. Samil Ouyang explained that SAJ provides end-to-end solutions, developing its own DC inverters, batteries, BMS, and virtual software to address application needs across residential and C&I sectors. The company integrates a value chain by connecting various partners, including distributors, installers, end-users, service partners, and energy operators. Ouyang described this comprehensive, collaborative approach as being like an "Uber for the industry," connecting resources and buyers to build holistic solutions.

"Yesterday we had SAJ Night. And all customers said one word: Uber. SAJ is the Uber for the industry. Because we connect every buyer and resources and build up these whole solutions." Ouyang · 03:40

Forward-Looking Innovations and Business Realization

Looking ahead, SAJ launched Elekeeper 5.0 in April, which established the foundational functions for its energy service platform. The company is now actively developing Elekeeper 6.0, which focuses on the practical realization of its business model. This next phase involves building business practices with VPP aggregators and empowering installers and end-users to participate in this ecosystem. Samil Ouyang also outlined plans for future technological advancements, including the integration of distributed AI solutions to enhance energy efficiency, stating SAJ aims to anticipate market needs three to five years in advance.

"" Ouyang · 05:17

Chapters

Chapters · click to jump
00:08
European Energy Storage Market Trends
Samil Ouyang discusses the growth rates and stability of residential and C&I energy storage markets in Europe.
01:47
SAJ's Elekeeper Vision & Positioning
Ouyang explains SAJ's strategic positioning as an 'Elekeeper' and energy service provider, aligning with the virtual power plant trend.
03:01
End-to-End Solutions and Partner Ecosystem
SAJ's comprehensive offerings and its collaborative approach to integrating various stakeholders in the value chain are detailed.
04:17
Future Development: Elekeeper 6.0 & AI Integration
Samil Ouyang outlines SAJ's plans for the Elekeeper 6.0 platform, focusing on business model realization and future technological innovations like AI.
06:22
Conclusion & Upcoming Events
Julia Pohl and Samil Ouyang conclude the interview, with an invitation to SAJ's upcoming ecosystem partner conference.

Interview transcript

Auto-generated · reviewed · ~3 min read
Hi everyone, this is Julia from EUPD Research, and I'm here at the last day of Intersolar 2026. I'm joined by Samir, the CEO and chairman of SAJ. Hi, Samir. Hi. Good to see you. Good to see you. I invited you because I wanted to get your perspective and SAJ's perspective on the European energy storage market. Yeah. To start off, what are your observations? What are the current key developments in your opinion? I think considering the market, because SAJ, we are focusing on residential and C&I, so I don't want to talk too much about the utility ones. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's fine. Considering residential, I think it's growing. Mm-hmm. But not growing that fast. Right. It's stable. I think maybe before the war between America and actually Iran, I think the increase rate would be less than maybe 10%. Okay. But maybe now it's maybe 10 to 15. So I don't think it's a big increase. Even some countries like Germany, so a little bit down. Yeah. But in fact for us, that's a healthy market. Okay. Because it's growing and not by others, you know. It's by itself. Mm-hmm. So for me, it's okay. I like this kind of growing. I'd hate, sometimes I hate it growing so fast and then going down. Right. And, but C&I is very good. Mm-hmm. And I think roughly maybe 30 to, no, and 50%- Mm-hmm ... growth. It's quite good growth. And so that's all. Anyway, it's a good market. At least it's growing. Yeah. I fully agree. I think we definitely see it also in our market analysis that the C&I segment remains one of the key drivers- Yes ... of deployment. Yes. Yet it's also a very challenging segment, right? Yeah. Because there's a lot of different application scenarios and very different requirements depending on the use cases. So what I would like to learn more about is how is SAJ positioning itself within that segment then. What is the added value that you bring for your clients? I think there's two aspects and two actually now scenarios, residential and C&I. But both for us, we see the trend. A trend actually, the virtual power plant. So we are actually positioning ourself as a, say, Elekeeper. We call it Elekeeper. We make this word Elekeeper. Mm-hmm. So it's like electricity keeper. So that means, from now on, and I will be say five year later, SAJ want to do with our, and partner and to be our energy service provider. Mm-hmm. So that way position our energy service provider, so we make this name like Elekeeper to just position ourself a unique value. Actually, what SAJ can do, I think it's that we do actually end-to-end solutions. Mm-hmm. We develop our like DC, inverter, battery, BMS, and the virtual, and a software. Mm-hmm. So, and we understand this application. And also for the channel side, we actually integrate the value- Mm-hmm ... and all the partners- Mm-hmm ... like distributors, installers, and also end users, even like service partner. Mm-hmm. And also energy operator. So we know how to do it. We are not doing it alone. We do it together. Mm-hmm. So that's why people... Yesterday we had SAJ Night. Mm-hmm. And all customers say one word, Uber. SAJ is the Uber for the industry. Mm-hmm. Like this kind of feeling because we connect every, like buyer and resources and build up these whole solutions. Mm-hmm. So we want to do this one. This is a unique value SAJ are building now. That's very interesting. I think it's important to think concepts holistically, right? And to make sure that if you are not able to provide parts of the value chain that you want to cover yourself, to partner with the right- Yeah ... people and stakeholders to do so. Yeah. So you already explained what you are currently implementing. Yeah. Now if we look into the future- Yeah ... may I ask what's next? What is in the plans? Yes. It's really clear in my mind. And this year, and April, and also, and we launched the Elekeeper 5.0, which is actually already built up all the functions and for the platform for the energy service. But now actually we are now busy developing also Elekeeper 6.0. Between 5.0 and .6.0, this is actually a practice, a business practice. How to actually, to build up the business with the VPP aggregator, like this, and also how to bring our installers and users to play this business together. Right. So we are actually not now, we're actually more focused on make it in the realization of this business model. So I would like to say from Elekeeper and a 6.0, there will be a module one with the SAJ together with our energy partner or together like Uber as our energy partner. Like we can bring a whole solution to end users, no matter the residential ones and C&I ones. Mm-hmm. So that's, we see, is our complete value chain, which we actually built up together with our partner. But besides, I will say three years later or five years later, what will be the next future? I think actually, we will say, we will bring new technology and to build up more about energy efficiency. Like AI, how to build a distributed AI. There's solutions for this. So we are doing step by step, but always we are moving three or five years earlier than the market. Okay. Interesting. Well then I'm very curious to hear how those plans are turning out next year. Okay. And what then the next innovation is that you are bringing. Next year we will hold up, actually we are organize our SAJ Elekeeper and Ecosystem Partner Conference- Mm-hmm ... in actually Spain next year. That would be early of March or end of February. So EUPD, you will be invited. Thank you. Well, looking forward to seeing you in España then. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for joining and taking the time. Thank you. Thank you.
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Frequently asked questions

Samil Ouyang, CEO & Chairman of SAJ, observes stable but moderate growth (10-15%) in the residential sector, characterizing it as a “healthy market.” In contrast, the C&I segment shows stronger growth, estimated at 30-50%.

SAJ is positioning itself as an “Elekeeper”—an electricity keeper and energy service provider—to support the trend of virtual power plants. The company aims to offer unique value through end-to-end solutions and a strong partner ecosystem.

SAJ provides integrated end-to-end solutions including DC inverters, batteries, BMS, and software. Samil Ouyang states they integrate an ecosystem of distributors, installers, end-users, service partners, and energy operators, acting as an “Uber for the industry” to connect resources and buyers.

SAJ, having launched Elekeeper 5.0, is developing Elekeeper 6.0, which will focus on the practical realization of its energy service business model. This involves building business practices with VPP aggregators and enabling partners and end-users to participate collaboratively.

Samil Ouyang states that SAJ plans to introduce new technologies for enhanced energy efficiency, specifically mentioning distributed AI solutions. He emphasizes that the company consistently aims to move three to five years ahead of general market trends with its innovations.