German utility E.On is to develop its own energy storage products in partnership with manufacturer SOLARWATT.
E.On will be targeting its domestic market initially with the first products expected to be available within months and “will be available in increasingly larger numbers going forward”, according to the company.
“An increasing number of our customers wants to become more energy autonomous. Together with SOLARWATT we can offer them a complete solution that fits their individual needs,” said Bernhard Reutersberg, E.ON Management Board member. “We aim to become a leading provider of electricity storage systems in Germany and to continually expand our palette of intelligent solutions for our customers,” he said.
The utility has previously announced its intention to focus on renewables and split the fossil fuel portion of its business into a separate unit in January 2016.
E.On highlighted that with 1.5 million installed solar arrays in Germany, there was already a strong market for retrofitting storage in addition to the potential of bundling storage with new PV system sales.
The modular system will be paired with an app to allow the end-user to track production and consumption.
“Earning the trust of Germany’s largest energy supplier indicates the success of our product innovation, which has taken us from being a manufacturer of solar modules to being a provider of system solutions,” said Stefan Quandt, SOLARWATT’s principal owner.
E.On purchased US energy storage software firm Greensmith in December 2015.
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