Dive Brief:
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Mercedes-Benz Energy is ready to sell its residential energy storage systems to customers in the U.K.
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Each installation can combine up to eight battery modules, each with a capacity of 2.5 kWh, to create a system with a total capacity of up to 20 kWh.
- The battery systems, most of which will likely be combined with solar panels, will be distributed via companies such as Alternergy, Innasol, Wind & Sun, and Solar Frontier.
Dive Insight:
Mercedes-Benz is trying to leverage its position as a maker of electric vehicles to create a market for its batteries in the residential market.
In 2015 Mercedes entered the Germany stationary storage market, and late last year the company launched Mercedes-Benz Energy Americas LLC to tap the U.S. market for residential storage.
Mercedes now reports it is making inroads in the U.K. storage market and is ready to begin selling systems there. Many of those systems will be combined with solar systems to provide load shifting or to provide power when the sun is not shining.
The start of sales in the U.K. could indicate that offerings in the U.S. are just around the corner. Mercedes would enter a crowded market stateside, with LG Chem announcing just this week that it would begin selling residential batteries in the U.S.
“There is tremendous interest in our energy storage units in the U.K. We’re very pleased to be able to offer Mercedes-Benz Energy Storage Home to customers here,” Marc Thomas, managing director of Mercedes-Benz Energy, said in a statement.