tesla moves into batteries that store energy for homes, businesses - home battery system
LOS ANGELES (Reuters)-
Tesla MotorsTSLA. O)
Tesla Energy released Thursday
Storage systems or batteries for homes, companies, and utilities, extend the business beyond electric vehicles and take advantage of rapid
Growth in the energy industry.
Chief executive Elon Musk said the company's goal was to "fundamentally change the way the world uses energy on an extreme scale.
"He introduced the products to a group of business partners and journalists at the Tesla plant near Los Angeles.
In Tesla's view, this storage system may become part of the fossil. fuel-
Free lifestyle, people can install solar panels on the roof, power the home, and charge the battery of the electric car.
The smallest battery released on Thursday is called Powerwall, located in a 6-inch-
Wide container for hanging in the garage or on the exterior wall of the house.
Excluding the inverter and installation price, the price of the 10kWh model is $3,500, and Powerwall can be used for backup power supply or storage of solar energy.
Tesla's main installation partner for home batteries will be SolarCity Corp. SCTY.
O, solar installer supported by Musk.
Musk said the company will also work with many other companies.
Tesla has installed hundreds of Solar City system batteries in California.
The growth of these projects has benefited from subsidies from California's utilities regulator.
Utilities have also been looking for energy storage to help manage the growing number of renewable energy sources in the grid.
To address the market, Musk launched what he called a "power group," a 100-hour battery block designed to help smooth power from intermittent solar and wind production, or quickly add energy to the grid when demand levels are high.
Tesla already has several companies.
The California grid has deployed massive batteries, which requires its largest utility to provide a lot of energy storage.
Musk told reporters that Tesla expects the gross profit margin of battery products to be low in the fourth quarter of this year, but will continue to grow, adding that battery products will be "profitable" sometime next year ".
Carl Brewer: "A cost-effective home energy storage system that may be more valuable and profitable than anything the company does to the car, "a senior analyst at Kelly Blue Book, a research firm in the automotive industry, said.
Tesla will initially produce batteries at a California car factory, but will move production to the planned "Gigabit plant" in Nevada next year ".
Deutsche Bank estimates that sales of fixed-cell storage systems for home and commercial use could be as high as $4.
Tesla's revenue is 5 billion.
Analysts expect Tesla to build a fixed storage system around its large plant in Nevada that produces basic batteries for its vehicles.
According to research firm ihs cera, although the valuation in 2012 was only $0. 2 billion, the energy storage industry is expected to grow to $19 billion by 2017.
Tesla is not the only participant in energy storage.
Coda Energy rises from the ashes of a failed electric vehicle manufacturer and is now owned by Fortress Investments and startups backed by companies like Total (TOTF. PA), GE (GE. N)and Siemens (SIEGn. DE)
Is one of the many companies chasing fixed storage market share.