Shell Tackles Home Batteries
Shell purchases German startup, Sonnen, and focuses on home battery storage in next advancement in sustainable energy.
Feb 19, 2019
LONDON – Shell is looking to the future with home battery storage and sustainable energy. A new acquisition supports its New Energies strategy, which aims to balance “rising energy consumption with the need to cut emissions.”
Royal Dutch Shell purchased Sonnen, a German startup that makes residential battery systems that store energy generated from solar panels. This acquisition means Shell will be competing with Samsung, LG and Tesla. CNN reports that the oil company plans to spend $2 billion a year on commercial opportunities in the sustainable energy space.
"We're excited to help more households to become energy independent and benefit from new opportunities in the energy market," Sonnen CEO Christoph Ostermann said in a statement.
Sonnen’s home energy solution uses its lithium batteries that have a minimum lifespan of 10,000 charging cycles that can last 20 years. It’s an ideal solution for areas that suffer from electric grid infrastructure disruptions.
CNN says Shell may be responding to social and investor pressure over its contribution to climate change.
