Naphtal Haya Named POWER Rising Star Finalist
The DNV Energy USA lead is recognized for his early-career contributions to long-duration energy storage bankability.
Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Energy
Naphtal Haya, Practice Lead for Long Duration Energy Storage at DNV Energy USA, has been named a finalist for the POWER Rising Star Award. The honor acknowledges professionals who have made a significant positive impact on the power generation sector early in their careers.
Why it matters
Haya’s work addresses the financial and technical challenges of scaling energy storage by standardizing how complex system-level risks are assessed. His focus on creating bankable engineering assessments is central to managing the risks inherent in utility-scale energy storage deployments.
Haya’s technical contributions include the development of the LDES Bankability Scorecard and the Deployment Maturity Index. These frameworks are currently used to translate complex system-level risks into bankable engineering assessments for energy storage products.
The players
Naphtal Haya
Practice Lead for Long Duration Energy Storage at DNV Energy USA and a 2022 Harvard University graduate.
DNV Energy USA
An international technical consultancy and certification body that provides independent engineering and risk management services for the global power sector.
The details
Haya’s approach bridges the gap between engineering specifications and financial feasibility by creating structured evaluation tools for energy storage. By quantifying system-level risk, he enables stakeholders to conduct independent engineering assessments across residential, commercial, and utility-scale projects. This process standardizes project evaluation, replacing ad-hoc risk assessments with repeatable maturity indexes.
Timeline
2022: Naphtal Haya graduated from Harvard University.
September 29, 2026: The announcement of Haya as an award finalist was published.
The Tech Race
Haya’s work through the Global LDES Commercialization Forum signals a broader industry shift toward standardizing financial risk assessment for grid-scale storage. This development reflects the ongoing transition from experimental energy storage pilots to the rigorous bankability required for massive power grid integration.
Haya’s frameworks serve as a technical bridge for investors and developers working on the next generation of utility-scale energy projects. These tools are currently applied to evaluate the viability of residential, commercial, and utility-scale energy storage products.
The takeaway
The recognition of Haya highlights the growing importance of standardizing engineering metrics to secure funding for energy transition technologies. Industry participants should monitor the evolution of the LDES Bankability Scorecard as a benchmark for future project valuations.
Further reading
For more on how new standards are shaping grid infrastructure, read the latest analysis in /science/energy/.
