Battery storage is already showing itself as a hotly contested race in the US, even before the 2016 widely expected retail launch of the Tesla Powerwall. This storage race has been fueled further by German-based Sonnenbatterie launching its plug-and-play home battery system in the US prior to Christmas.
As reported by pv-magazine, the US move gives the German manufacturer a head-start on Tesla’s Powerwall. How sales results show after the first quarter remains to be seen.
Sonnenbatterie has already made an eye-catching American footprint, manufacturing storage devices in San Jose, California, and having inked distribution agreements with some 30 US dealers. More importantly, sales are already taking place:
“Demand for the battery is already strong, with a Sonnenbatterie spokesperson telling pv magazine’s German-language website that around 1,000 products have already been ordered.”
In anticipation of continued high demand, Sonnenbatterie aims to increase production capacity at its San Jose site. Production is already running at full capacity, the company confirmed.
As we have previously reported, Sonnenbatterie has been successful in Europe, especially in its home country Germany.
The Sonnenbatterie home storage system offers an electricity storage package for the solar homeowner. Alongside a lithium-ion battery, the plug-and-play system also includes an inverter, and control and measurement technology are contained within the box. The system can be accessed via computer or smartphone to ensure homeowners can always monitor their energy consumption usage and patterns.
CEO Boris von Bormann believes his company is providing a comprehensive home storage system. “We’re doing a whole-home backup, and driving critical devices with the Smart Home platform. No one else is offering that.”
The company website provides this perspective:
“The Sonnenbatterie system ensures that you get the greatest possible benefit from your PV system. A household with a Sonnenbatterie and a PV system can meet 70 to 80% of its electricity needs with self-generated electricity over the course of a year, and as much as 100% in the summer.”
With the new year coming soon, the race in the battery storage marketplace will be most interesting to watch.
Image via Sonnenbatterie
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