Sonnen, a German battery start-up that has become Europe’s largest maker of rechargeable energy storage units, has secured an investment from General Electric as it expands its presence in the US and UK. The private German company was founded in 2010 and competes with the likes of Tesla and Samsung to provide homeowners with lithium-ion battery packs powered by solar energy. To date it has sold 11,000 units, including 2,600 units worldwide in the first quarter – just enough to outpace sales of Tesla’s wall-mounted Powerwall units. GE Ventures, an arm of GE, paid a “mid double-digit million-euro” amount for a stake in the company. Sonnen and GE would not disclose the exact amount, or say what it implied about Sonnen’s valuation. Jonathan Pulitzer, managing director at GE Ventures, said that Sonnen was “helping to reshape the energy industry” with “clean and affordable energy”. The cost of a “sonnenbatterie” starts at 3,500 euro, but the average system is between 7,000 and 8,000 euro. Once installed customers can move “off the grid” and save up to 80 per cent off their utility bill.
FT 6th June 2016 read more »
Renew Economy 7th June 2016 read more »