Automakers Expanding From the Garage to the Home with Energy Storage

As the residential energy storage industry continues to take shape around the world, the landscape of companies involved is becoming increasingly diverse. While the industry is still in nascent stages, the number of new companies entering the market (and their differing backgrounds) is growing. Companies offering dedicated residential energy storage products include battery pack manufacturers, inverter manufacturers, software providers, solar PV vendors/developers, and automotive manufacturers. With the growing popularity of EVs, it comes as no surprise that automakers are looking to leverage their battery expertise to develop complementary products. These companies are eyeing a piece of the residential storage market expected to be worth $5.4 billion annually by 2025, according to Guidehouse Insights’ Residential Energy Storage report.

In June 2016, after months of speculation, automaker BMW officially announced a residential energy storage product featuring the same batteries used in its i3 vehicles. The company joins several of its competitors that have already repackaged their vehicle batteries into home energy products. Fellow German automaker Daimler already offers Mercedes-branded home battery systems, and Nissan offers a similar product through a partnership with energy technology specialist Eaton. These companies are not alone; EV pioneers Tesla and BYD both have dedicated residential energy storage products and are actively working to expand in this area.

Seeking Advantages

Automakers see several advantages as they enter the increasingly crowded market for residential energy storage systems. Customers looking to purchase or lease EVs may be prime candidates for purchasing residential energy systems. The ability to upsell EV customers to also purchase home battery systems could provide a lucrative sales channel with lower customer acquisition costs than competitors. Additionally, automakers are actively working to position themselves within the emerging vehicle-to-grid space. Both BMW and Nissan have announced vehicle-to-grid pilot projects with power providers Pacific Gas & Electric and Enel, respectively. These programs seek to utilize the available capacity in EV batteries and the flexibility of EV charging to help alleviate congestion and reduce peak demand on the grid.

Furthermore, automakers may have a distinct advantage in the coming years through low-cost access to repurposed EV batteries. Some companies have already capitalized on this resource through partnerships with storage project developers to supply these used batteries at a competitive price. According to analysis in Guidehouse Insights’ Alternative Revenue Models for Advanced Batteries report, “the effective energy capacity available from EV [lithium ion] batteries for second-life stationary energy storage system applications is projected to exceed 1 GWh per year in 2022.”

Across the growing energy storage market, new players are entering and looking to leverage their expertise from a variety of complementary industries. Automakers are not alone in having identified the advantages their existing businesses will provide as they compete in the energy storage market. Solar PV providers, energy service companies, and even utilities are all seeking to leverage their customer base and technical expertise to provide the most attractive and cost-effective solutions in this rapidly evolving market.