Shell looks to plug into home storage with deal to acquire battery outfit Sonnen
Oil giant continues its expansion into clean tech market with proposed acquisition of Sonnen for an undisclosed sum
Shell has agreed to buy the German battery specialist Sonnen for an undisclosed sum, the oil giant announced today in a move which catapults it into the home energy storage market.
Sonnen is one of the fastest growing battery storage companies in Europe having installed more than 40,000 home battery packs across Europe since 2010.
Last May Shell Ventures led an investment round in the company and formed a strategic partnership with it to explore potential applications for Sonnen’s technology, including the possibility of smart EV charging.
Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president of new energies at Shell, said full ownership of the battery company would allow Shell to “offer more choice” to customers looking for clean energy.
“Together, we can accelerate the building of a customer-focused energy system in support of Shell’s strategy to offer more and cleaner energy solutions to customers,” he said.
Sonnen batteries enable customers to store energy generated from rooftop solar panels for when it is needed, often during the evening hours.
The company has also experimented with using its network of batteries to provide a distributed demand response system for the German grid, to help balance supply and demand at a national level.
Today’s decision to acquire Sonnen outright embeds Shell further in the clean tech and power utilities market, following its acquisition of First Utility in December 2017 and its buy out of electric vehicle (EV) charge point firm New Motion earlier that year.
The move also follows news this week that the company is investing in a new project to develop floating wind turbine technologies.
In a statement Shell said the acquisition will “accelerate the ability of the two companies to offer innovative integrated energy services and electric vehicle charging solutions, and the provision of grid services that are based on Sonnen’s virtual battery pool”.
Terms of today’s deal were not disclosed, and the arrangement is subject to regulatory approval, Shell added.
Source: businessgreen
