2 H BY MARK KANE
SolarEdge, a solar inverter supplier, now will be able to produce ESS in-house.
SolarEdge Technologies acquired this month Kokam – the South Korean manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cells, battery packs and energy storage systems.
According to SolarEdge, about 75% of outstanding equity shares were bought for approximately $88 million, including related transaction expenses. In effect company will gain competences in important ESS market as well as in batteries for UPS, electric vehicles (EV), aerospace, marine and more. The remaining 25% is intended to be acquired over time.
Kokam is a much smaller company than LG Chem, Samsung SDI or SK Innovation, so its presence in EV market wasn’t big, but both Kokam and SolarEdge were known names in the industry.
Kokam batteries were used in Solar Impulse 2 electric aircraft (154 kWh) that circled the world around. Here are more Kokam-powered EV:
Kokam EV Reference
On the other hand, SolarEdge was since 2015 a supplier of inverters for Tesla energy storage systems and now, by having Kokam on-board, will be able to provide an entire ESS.
Guy Sella, CEO, Chairman and Founder of SolarEdge said:
“The acquisition of Kokam will enable us to grow our offering, adding already proven battery storage to our product portfolio. Our technological innovation combined with Kokam’s world-class team and renowned battery storage solutions, will enable seamless integration with our current solutions, taking us a further step toward making solar installations smarter and more beneficial.”
“We are excited that Kokam is joining the SolarEdge team and look forward to pooling our shared accomplishments to provide the market with more holistic smart energy systems. We believe that our complimentary areas of expertise will allow us to combine the extensive know-how and core assets of both companies in order to further enhance SolarEdge’s portfolio and industry leadership.”
Categories: Battery Tech, ESS