Royal Dutch Shell plc has agreed to acquire 100 per cent of sonnen, a German company which produces home energy storage systems for households and small businesses, meaning that following regulatory approval and completion, sonnen will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell.
Executive Vice President New Energies at Shell Mark Gainsborough has high hopes for the acquisition, stating that 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,” he explained.
“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.”
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of sonnen Christoph Ostermann also commented that Shell New Energies is the perfect partner for helping the company to grow in a rapidly expanding market.
“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,” he said.
Sonnen is estimated to have already installed more than 3000 battery systems since its launch in Australia and has plans to further grow its business here.
The agreement is expected to 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.
The news comes not long after Shell Australia Chairman Zoe Yujnovich’s address at last week’s Melbourne Mining Club luncheon in which she announced Shell’s proposal for a 120-megawatt solar plant. The plant will be located on the land of the QGC onshore natural gas business in the Darling Downs of Queensland.
The solar project, if green-lit, would feature approximately 400,000 solar panels and assist Shell to bring down the emissions footprint of onshore gas production at QGC and support their global pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from their operations.