The restructuring of the portfolio at Finnish technology group Wärtsilä is continuing. The latest project involves a new joint venture with the Constance-based company RCT Solutions – alongside the closure of one of its own business units.
Wärtsilä will be joining forces with RCT Solutions GmbH, based in Konstanz, to focus on energy storage in future. At the same time, the ‘Energy Storage’ division will be established as a separate segment, the Finnish company announced today. Ownership of the joint venture will be split equally (50% each) between RCT Solutions and Wärtsilä. However, the door is being left open for further developments: at a later date, additional investors could join the joint venture, which could reduce the original shareholders’ stakes, according to the statement.
For Wärtsilä, this marks another step in an extensive restructuring of its own portfolio, which has been underway for several years. Most recently, the sale of “Water & Waste” was announced in February. Various business units and subsidiaries had already been divested previously, including some in Germany. The sales included the “Automation and Navigation” (ANCS) business unit, the “Gas Solutions” segment, the cargo tank gauging business, a propeller foundry in Spain, and, from Germany, the brands Euroatlas, Funa from Emden, Jovyatlas and Elac Nautik from Kiel. These local companies had been added to the portfolio at the time through the L-3 acquisition.
The new joint venture with RCT is set to encompass Wärtsilä’s energy storage business, which is currently reported as a separate segment. This division is Wärtsilä’s smallest segment; it employs around 480 people worldwide and generated net revenue of €694 million in 2025 with a profitability of 3.3%. At its core, the business focuses on the provision of integrated battery energy storage systems (BESS) on an industrial scale. The portfolio comprises hardware, control and optimisation software, as well as services across the entire lifecycle.
RCT Solutions GmbH is a German engineering company founded in 2012 with international expertise in the fields of solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS). “RCT Solutions brings in-depth market know-how, expertise in operational implementation and knowledge of the global supply chain. Furthermore, an existing initiative for integrated BESS manufacturing in the US opens up the possibility of vertical integration in the short term,” the Finnish company stated today. RCT has led the planning and construction of several manufacturing facilities for batteries and solar technology worldwide; furthermore, one of the RCT companies has been operating as a key supplier to Wärtsilä Energy Storage for several years.
“Once the transaction to establish the joint venture is complete, Wärtsilä will be working with an experienced partner that possesses strong expertise in operating an integrated energy storage business under challenging market conditions. RCT Solutions aims to develop into a global, vertically integrated provider of battery storage systems. This transaction offers Wärtsilä’s energy storage business an excellent opportunity to strengthen its competitiveness,” said Håkan Agnevall, President and CEO of Wärtsilä.
RCT CEO Peter Fath described the joint venture as a “significant step towards building a stronger, more competitive global platform for energy storage solutions.” It lays the foundation “for success in the rapidly evolving energy storage market”. Fath will lead the joint venture as CEO in future. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026.
A loss is expected for the joint venture in 2026, due to the recent low level of order intake and costs associated with transformation measures – in particular, amortisation of capitalised R&D costs. Positive results are expected to be achieved “towards the end of 2027”.
