shell's purchase of household battery maker sonnen tipped to bring down prices - home battery system
Global oil giant Shell has announced it will take over German home battery company Sonnen as part of its strategy to invest in renewable technologies.
Sonnen, an emerging participant in the Australian Energy Market, has set up a base at the former Holden base in northern Adelaide to produce batteries for home installation.
The purchase of an undisclosed amount will require regulatory approval, but is welcomed by renewable energy advocates as a positive step for the industry and consumers.
"Sonnen is one of the global leaders in intelligent distributed energy storage systems," executive vice president Mark Gainsborough
The president of Shell's new energy division said in a statement.
"Full ownership of Sonnen will enable us to offer more options for customers looking for reliable, economical and clean energy.
Sonnen will retain its independent brand and CEO Christoph Ostermann says the investment will enable the company to increase production.
"Shell will help push Sonnen growth to a new level and help accelerate the transformation of the energy system," he said . ".
Sonnen officially opened its home battery assembly site at the old Holden factory on November.
As the company starts planning to build 430 battery systems over the next five years, the local workforce is expected to add 50,000 jobs by the end of the year.
"They need to play in this space, which is why it makes sense for Shell to acquire Sonnen this way.
"South Australia has taken the right step in entering battery technology --
It's not just a Tesla battery on the Internet, but a home battery.
Giles Parkinson, a renewable energy industry analyst who runs the renewable energy advocacy website Renew Economy, said the announcement was good news for consumers and would help make batteries cheaper.
"With more and more manufacturing, you will start to see these costs fall," he said . ".
"Basically, the prediction of the battery is that it will follow the same cost curve as solar.
The cost of solar energy has fallen by 90 in the past 10 years.
Shell, which established the new energy wing in 2016, pledged to diversify renewable energy as part of its carbon footprint reduction strategy.
"Their investment in battery storage companies is very rapid now.
It's a business decision. it's not a moral decision.
Sonnen had previously predicted that federal Labor plans to introduce Battery subsidies that could "tip the market" for household batteries ".
Finn, engineer and solar analyst? Finn Peacock welcomed Shell's move, but was also skeptical about Shell's motives.
"This is the pocket change for the shell," he said . ".
"Compared to other large battery manufacturers like Tesla, I don't see Sonnen having a particular advantage in the battery space.
"Their batteries are very expensive and they really need to work on reducing the cost of these devices.
Mr. Peacock said
Batteries of scale like Tesla's project near Jamestown are now more cost-effective than household battery packs.
"Home batteries are important in the future, but now the price --
"They don't pay for themselves at all during the warranty period," he said . ".
"Kickbacks for home batteries are purely political.
Politicians have yet to study the economic problems of household solar energy and storage.
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