Sonnen says profits “enormously” from global Shell network following takeover

German home battery specialist Sonnen, one of Germany’s most prominent energy transition start-ups, which was taken over by Shell earlier this year, wants to become a global market leader with the help of the oil’s global network. Sonnen CEO Christoph Ostermann told Süddeutsche Zeitung that his company’s expansion plans would benefit “enormously” from Shell’s network. Ostermann said Sonnen wants to enter Asian and Latin American markets, but would find it difficult as a medium-sized company with 600 employees, according to an article by Stefan Mayr. Ostermann added that a solar PV array on the roof, connected to a battery in the cellar, would soon become a mainstream product comparable to a deep freezer. “With the strong partner Shell we can scale ourselves up and thereby prevent production of this key technology from migrating to Asia.” Ostermann said Shell had become one of the world’s largest greentech investors, and that its renewable power involvement was “ambitious, solid, thought-through and credible.” 

Shell said in March that it plans to transform itself into “the largest electricity power company in the world” by the early 2030s, and the Sonnen purchase is part of that plan. The company announced the acquisition of Sonnen in February. Sonnen was founded in 2010 and has been one of the driving forces behind the budding home storage boom in Germany.