Royal Dutch Shell is betting on home battery storage as the oil giant is considering it helpful to enhance its sustainable energy business.
Heading towards that strategy, Shell on Friday has announced buying of a German startup Sonnen which makes residential level battery systems used to store energy generated from solar panels.
Other big techs are already progressing in their sustainable energy programs including from LG, Samsung and especially Tesla which makes a similar battery system Powerwall, and after making the recent move, Shell is now in direct competition with these major players for home battery platform.
In order to lessen the carbon emissions, Shell, aiming at leveling of rising energy consumptions, has developed a strategy of New Energies, and current acquisition is also a part of that strategy, financial details of which were not disclosed by the company.
In sustainable energy sector, Shell intends to make yearly investments of as much as $2 billion.
Earlier in May last, the oil company for the first time backed a funding round of Sonnen, which brought 60 million euros ($67 million) of investments for the startup firm.
The company is aiming to help households to be benefitted from energy market’s new opportunities and become independent for their energy requirements, said Christoph Ostermann, CEO of Sonnen, in a stastement.
Lithium batteries of Sonnen, as claims the company, can lasts for 20 years and have a 10,000 charging cycles during its lifespan; and since its inception in 2010, company had sold about 30,000 battery systems, largely in the Germany but also having an availability in the United States and other countries.
Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm, has estimated global installation of about 300,000 home battery systems between 2013 and 2018, with Germany leading the market with 70,000 installations followed by Australia where 60,000 household installed the battery systems, while installations in the United States remained 20,000, mostly installed by Tesla and LG.
