China's Shunfeng PV to buy into US energy storage firm

Aug 7, 2014 - China-based Shunfeng Photovoltaic International Ltd (HKG:1165) said today it had agreed to buy a 30% stake in US energy storage technology firm Powin Energy Corp for USD 25 million (EUR 18.7m).

The solar photovoltaic (PV) products maker has signed the deal through fully-owned unit SF Suntech Inc. The subsidiary has also received a two-year option to acquire an additional 30% interest in the US company for a further USD 37.5 million. The initial transaction will give SF Suntech four seats on Powin Energy’s board.

Oregon-incorporated Powin Energy has a number of patented and patent-pending technologies in the fields of energy storage, load shifting and fast charging. Its energy storage technology represents a lithium-ion battery energy storage system with a capacity of over 5 MW and charging and discharging ratios of more than 80%. The firm expects this technology to be used in large-scale power plants.

Powin Energy is one of the four businesses Shunfeng PV said it was targeting a couple of months ago. More specifically, the Chinese group said in June it was considering the acquisition of four businesses, including a solar park operator in Europe and a geothermal heat pump specialist in China.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.749)

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