Residential solar battery maker Sonnen doubles production capacity

German residential solar battery maker Sonnen GmbH has doubled its production capacity and can now produce 120,000 home storage systems per year at its headquarters in Bavaria much earlier than originally planned.

The expansion comes as a response to the substantial increase in demand for residential solar storage systems as 214,000 new batteries were installed in Germany in 2022, according to figures from industry association BSW Solar.

"Last year we experienced an unprecedented increase in demand, which we were not able to cover completely despite our production facility, which was inaugurated in 2021. But even if demand for home storage systems returns to normal, it will remain at a high level. By bringing forward the next expansion stage of our production capacity, we will be able to reliably serve this demand, which comes from many markets", said Sonnen's chief executive Oliver Koch.

In addition to expanding production, the company has also opened a new training centre and expanded its on-site development capacities. Its workforce has grown from around 800 to 1,500 employees since the beginning of 2022, with about 450 of them working at the headquarters in Wildpoldsried, Bavaria.

What is specific about Sonnen's batteries is that the company is networking its customers' home storage systems into virtual power plants, which are active on the balancing power market for frequency containment reserve (FCR) and balance supply and demand in the electricity grid.

Sonnen, which is owned by Shell Plc, has its own locations in Germany, Italy, UK, Australia, Spain and the US.

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