sonnen

After months of preliminary work, the time has come: With its PV+home storage network, sonnen GmbH has received prequalification from TenneT to participate in Germany’s primary control energy market. While it is currently allowed to deliver 1 MW, the goal is to supply 100 MW.

The German energy storage provider has begun assembling batteries at the former Holden site at Elizabeth in Adelaide’s north. The company has already hired 50 full-time employees.

The South Australian government has inaugurated its landmark $100 million Home Battery Scheme, which will subsidize the cost of buying a home energy storage system for up to 40,000 South Australian households. A nine-week priority period has been given to locally made battery systems, with Germany’s sonnen as the first provider to enjoy this benefit.

Announcing the appointment a new managing director for Australia and Asia Pacific, thee German storage provider has confirmed it expects to produce the first batteries from its production line at the former Holden site in Elizabeth, SA, next month.

More than 100 free storage systems will given to residential and commercial users to maximize utilization rates of storage systems while reducing costs for grid operators. The algorithms behind the technology would improve the supply situation and shave peak demand.

The South Australian government will launch its Home Battery Scheme in October, which will offer South Australians subsidies of up to AU$6,000. In the wake of the government’s announcement, the German storage provider has revealed plans to manufacture up to 50,000 battery storage units at the former Holden site in Elizabeth, creating hundreds of jobs.

During the past three years, Philipp Schröder has built up and consolitaded the Sonnen brand. Now the self-proclaimed “Sonnen Warrior” is going his own way, although he will remain an advisor to the German storage provider. Managing Director, Christoph Ostermann regrets the departure, but emphasizes that with the strong management team that has been established, he will continue to promote the company’s growth.

The German PV home storage provider delivered around 1,500 solar batteries globally last month. At around 75%, most systems went to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Germany’s RCT Power will start manufacturing lithium-ion-phosphate battery storage modules in eastern China this week. The fully automated facility in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has an initial annual production capacity of 18,000 units.

The French energy giant and the German storage specialist will begin offering a combined solar-plus-storage solution for self-consumption on the residential French market.