FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy German residential solar battery maker sonnen, as the oil and gas major expands its electricity business in its bid for a bigger role in the global transition to low-carbon energy.

Sonnen, which has 40,000 battery systems worldwide and in 2017 had sales of 65 million euros ($73 million), is the German market leader in home storage batteries and has expanded into electric vehicle charging systems.

Regulatory approval and completion of the transaction, involving Shell New Energies, was expected in the first quarter of 2019, a sonnen spokesman said, without giving a value.

Sonnen would continue to operate from the Bavarian town of Wildpoldsried and its top management would stay on, he said.

Germany has 1.5 million solar systems whose subsidized sales tariffs are due to be phased out in coming years. By acquiring batteries, householders can store home-produced power and use it for themselves or sell it to the grid.

Shell, the world’s second largest listed oil and gas producer, has accelerated investment in renewable energy and power markets, betting on a rapid rise in electricity demand due to electric vehicle use and a switch to cleaner energy sources.

It has acquired vehicle charging technologies, solar power producers and retail energy supplier First Utility. Shell injected cash into sonnen last year to help it grow.

Sonnen’s existing investors, including GE Ventures and European private equity investors, will be bought out.

Batteries are now renewables? Or merely just a crutch for renewables?

Or did you mean the rest of the piece?

You thought Shell wouldn't be into anything but oil? Anything that might make them money?

Did you see? "Shell, the world’s second largest listed oil and gas producer" and nothing about getting out of oil and gas.

Next you will be blaming battery prices not falling on the evil fossil fuel companies.

Shell can see a way to make more money.

How positively wonderful.

Not going to comment on evil oil owning the battery maker?

Sir lastnail wrote on Feb 16^th, 2019 at 2:26pm:


So how does Labor make money? print it?

or perhaps you mean they get kickbacks from renewables?

Sir lastnail wrote on Feb 16^th, 2019 at 3:56pm:


Does that mean Shell can rarely endorse renewable energy industries?

Should Governments be in the business of picking and choosing winners/losers?

It has been tried before and the results were less than encouraging.

Sir lastnail wrote on Feb 17^th, 2019 at 9:19am:


Which of course is completely different from endorsing products.

So how many permanent green jobs have been created as opposed to losses in fossil fuelled industries?

Sir lastnail wrote on Feb 17^th, 2019 at 2:01pm:



Wow. Luddites use computers now.