Sonnen solar batteries for households and small business are on the brink of a massive market expansion, according to German battery giant sonnen.
Sonnen is the world’s leading energy storage brand for homes and small businesses. Its key markets have traditionally been Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
However, the Australian, Italian and US markets are now also opening up. As the payback period for solar battery systems reduces and costs falls, sonnen says the market is primed to explode.
According to Sonnen MD/CFO Steffen Schneider, the average payback period in 2014 was 25 years. This has fallen to between eight and ten years in Germany. But because Australia has more sunshine, solar battery systems here can be paid back in six to eight years.
With costs still falling, the payback period will soon be five years, Schneider says. Further reductions in battery and inverter prices will “see the market exploding”.
Solar batteries key to virtual power plants (VPP)
Australia is also a key player in provision of virtual power plants, says Schneider. These ‘connected communities’ allow solar users to generate, store and share their electricity.
Virtual power plants (VPP) allow energy storage companies like sonnen to become power retailers too.
For example, by joining the sonnenFlat scheme, sonnen battery owners receive a guaranteed amount of annual electricity with no electricity bills. Members instead pay as little as $30 per month as a flat fee.
According to Schneider, digitalisation and blockchain technology connect sonnenFlat customers together through their batteries. As a result, a network of small solar energy systems create a single large virtual power plant.
Recent recommendations from the Australian Energy Market Commission could also encourage solar energy users to join a VPP.
Sonnen solar batteries: Still a long way to go
As reported by Impact4All, Schneider says sonnen and the solar industry must continue to build on current success.
But more must be done to reduce costs and payback periods for solar batteries for households. This will encourage people to go on investing in solar installations.
In 2017, sonnen generated just under $103 million in revenue. The company is global market leader in lithium ion phosphate batteries.
Since its launch in 2011, sonnen has installed more than 30,000 battery storage units globally. It has also supplied more than 120,000 people with electricity from clean energy sources like solar.
While the global energy storage market is developing very rapidly, Schneider believes “there’s still a long way to go”.
