Shell has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Sonnen, a leader in smart energy storage systems and innovative energy services for households. This follows an investment by Shell in May 2018 and means that, post regulatory approval and completion, Sonnen will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell.

“Sonnen is one of the global leaders in smart, distributed energy storage systems and has a track record of customer-focused innovation. Full ownership of Sonnen will allow us to offer more choice to customers seeking reliable, affordable and cleaner energy,” Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president New Energies at Shell, said. “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.”

Christoph Ostermann, CEO and co-founder of Sonnen, says, “Shell New Energies is the perfect partner for helping us grow in a market that is expanding rapidly. With this investment we’re excited to help more households to become energy independent and benefit from new opportunities in the energy market. Shell will help drive the growth of sonnen to a new level and help speed up the transformation of the energy system.”

Sonnen, which competes with Tesla Powerwall and more recently LG Energy Storage Systems, offers smart energy storage to customers and offers digital energy services via its SonnenCommunity platform.

For example, the sonnenBatterie optimizes the use of solar power in a household and supplies energy at night using stored solar power generated in daytime. Sonnen has been a pioneer in the energy market by combining its technology with new business models for a decentralised energy system.

Integrated Energy Services

Recently, Sonnen put Germany’s biggest virtual battery into operation. It is based on a network of home electricity storage systems across the country to help balance power supply and demand on the power grid.

Sonnen's ecoLinx targets the home market and debuted at CEDIA Expo 2018. The product, which unites energy storage with smart home controls. 

SEE RELATED: Are Integrators Ready to be Energy Automation Contractors?

The agreement 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.

Shell established its New Energies division in 2016. Shell New Energies focuses on two main areas: new fuels for transport, such as advanced biofuels and hydrogen; and power, being involved at almost every stage of the process, from generating electricity, to buying and selling it, to supplying it directly to customers.

Shell aims to make electricity a significant part of its business. Shell’s New Energies business is seeking to leverage the company’s strengths in fast-growing and commercial parts of the energy industry and could spend on average between $1 billion and $2 billion a year until 2020 on commercial opportunities.

The Sonnen Group based in Germany is one of the leading manufacturers of smart residential storage systems and is a pioneer of technologies for a clean, decentralized and connected energy system. With its virtual battery that is based on digital connected residential storage systems, Sonnen offers new and highly innovative energy services for grid providers and customers.