Q Cells invests $5m in SwitchDin to tap solar and battery management technology

One Step Off The Grid

Global solar giant Q Cells has tapped the distributed energy management software platform of Australian start-up SwitchDin, to pair with its recently launched Q.Home solar and storage package, combining PV panels, a hybrid inverter, and lithium-ion battery of up to 12kWh.

Newcastle-based SwitchDin said on Tuesday that it had secured a $5 million investment from Q-Cells to help further develop SwitchDin’s technology while also helping the German-based PV manufacturer to move beyond rooftops to vertically integrated clean energy solutions.

SwitchDin, which was founded in 2014, has gone from strength to strength in the Australian market using its DER integration technology to provide visibility and control of the booming rooftop solar market, and the emerging market for home battery storage.

One of the company’s key contributions to Australia’s rapidly changing electricity grid has been in helping to establish end-user friendly virtual power plants, microgrids and advanced network services incorporating a range of behind the meter resources.

SwtichDin has also been working with a number of industry partners – Solar Analytics, GreenSync, Enphase Energy, Redback Technologies, Edge Electrons, Fronius, sonnen, Tesla, Wattwatchers and SMA – to put together a DER Visibility & Monitoring Best Practice Guide, to help solve the challenge of allowing more solar on the grid without destabilising it.

Q Cells, meanwhile, has been actively growing its portfolio of offerings in the distributed energy market. Last October it launched its “fully wrapped” Q.Home solar and storage package with much fanfare at the All-Energy Australia conference and exhibition.

The previous May, the Korea-based $40 billion parent company Hanwha Group revealed plans to launch a “next generation” 100 per cent renewable electricity retailer in Australia and launched a subsidiary called Nectr in 2019.

In a statement on Tuesday, Q Cells CEO Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim said Australia had been at the forefront of developing the DER market, backed by its long history of organic solar growth.

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