Bosch has said its investment in a German energy storage company, just announced today, fits in with a purpose of positioning the engineering giant at the forefront of the emerging ‘digital climate and energy’ industry.
Bosch Thermotechnology will acquire a stake in Ads-Tec Energy, the energy storage system-making subsidiary of Stuttgart-headquartered Ads-Tec, which produces industrial IT systems. Following the signing of an agreement on 12 October, Bosch will acquire 39% of Ads-Tec Energy.
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The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval, while financial terms have not been disclosed. At the beginning of this year Ads-Tec completed and commissioned a 2.5MW battery energy storage system near a wind park with one hour of energy storage duration, which will smooth out variable generation from the facility for ease of grid integration.
“In cooperation with ads-tec Energy, we can offer comprehensive systems for local energy management in buildings and housing estates, thus making an important contribution to the energy transition,” Uwe Glock, chairman of the Bosch Thermotechnology board said.
“Our investment in ads-tec is the perfect strategic fit for our forward-looking positioning as a digital climate and energy company.”
“Decentralised, digital electric energy systems will be developed out of a niche to become a regular feature of our everyday life. Renewable energy, electromobility and the increasingly important role played by electric energy in the heat sector are growth drivers for new products and solutions. We ideally complement each other and will mutually add value to our activities,” Ads-Tec CEO Thomas Speidel said.
As seen at Energy Storage Europe, held in Dusseldorf, Germany this year and in previous years, sector coupling is seen as a big missing piece of the energy transition puzzle by the clean energy industries, advocacy groups – and some policymakers – in Europe. This means that synergies can be found and exploited in the decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitisation of different energy sectors: electricity, heat and transport.
Speidel of Ads-Tec and Bosch’s Uwe Glock said that the two companies saw big potential in sector coupling, particularly in creating complete solutions for houses and businesses that cover energy demand and generation holistically.
Bosch has developed and supplied energy storage projects in Germany already, including a joint venture (JV) with utility EnBW through which it executed a 5MW / 5MWh battery project which supplies primary reserve to the local grid.