sonnen celebrates its tenth anniversary and progresses to support the clean energy grid of the future

Press Release

Sydney, Australia – May 21, 2020 – sonnen celebrates the company’s 10^th anniversary. Starting with a prototype in the founder’s garage, to operating one of the world largest virtual power plants based on home batteries, sonnen pioneers the way with how households can use clean energy.

Founded in 2010 by Christoph Ostermann and Torsten Stiefenhofer in Wildpoldsried, Bavaria, sonnen created the sonnenBatterie which became the world’s first all-in-one Lithium ion home battery system available in the market.

The sonnenBatterie was a revolutionary idea during that time when photovoltaic systems on rooftops were only designed to export excess electricity generated back to the grid instead of using this energy in a household.

“When we started sonnen, our vision was for every household to become a clean, small power plant. The sonnenBatterie was ahead of its time when the market for a home battery did not exist. We had no competition and we had no customers either,” said Christoph Ostermann, founder and CEO of sonnen.

Over a decade, sonnen has evolved from being a manufacturer of home batteries to becoming an energy supplier for a new, clean and decentralised energy system.

The company now employs over 700 people in nine locations worldwide and is one of the largest manufacturers of smart energy storage systems. sonnenBatteries are manufactured in Germany, North America and Australia. To date, over 50,000 households have a sonnenBatterie installed around the world. sonnen was acquired by Shell New Energies on 1 March 2019 and continues to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell.

“sonnen is a completely different organisation from when we first began. In a new market, that did not exist before, you have to adjust to new situations and to reinvent yourself constantly. That’s why we did not just stop at being a manufacturer for smart storage systems. We realised that it was just the first step of creating a new energy world that is clean, decentralised, digital and affordable. And that is where we’re going,” said Christoph Ostermann.

Some of sonnen’s innovations include:

• sonnenCommunity, an energy community that combines all sonnen customers who can participate in producing, storing or even sharing their energy with others and benefit from this together as a community in several ways. Through the sonnenCommunity, customers can for example participate in a virtual power plant (VPP) that provides grid stability when needed for the benefit of anyone who is connected to the grid. In some markets, households who participate in the sonnenCommunity receive an annual profit share in return.
• With a new VPP software sonnen has developed a crucial platform for a new energy system that connects electric devices to form a virtual power plant. It allows a network of storage units to participate in the control power market. Providers can license this software to network micro-installations of up to 25 kW. This includes home storage systems such as the sonnenBatterie, heat pumps to charging devices for electric vehicles through the public Internet.
• sonnenNow, a package that is available in Germany which allows customers to rent a photovoltaic system and a sonnenBatterie for a monthly fee, rather than having to purchase this outright.
• sonnenDrive is an all-inclusive-subscription for a brand-new electric car for six months to trial if an electric vehicle suits their lifestyle. This offer is only available in Germany right now.

“For most households, the issue of energy supply has looked the same for decades. There’s an electricity contract and households are billed for the annual kilowatt hours consumed. This is short-sighted because the entire energy system is undergoing fundamental changes. As a new energy supplier, sonnen is giving households complete and easy access to greater possibilities to achieve energy independence on their own terms,” says Christoph Ostermann.

sonnen entered the Australian market in 2016 and launched a world-class production facility in late 2018 in Elizabeth, South Australia. It is focused on innovating safe, long-lasting, and intelligent energy management solutions to develop products for the Asia-Pacific regions. sonnen received the “Research and Development Investment” Award at the 57^th Australian Export Awards and the sonnenBatterie Hybrid 9.53 was certified Australian Made.