SolarEdge eases supply worries with new battery cell giga-factory in South Korea

SolarEdge Technologies had some good news for an under pressure global battery energy storage market this week with the unveiling of a new two gigawatt-hour (2GWh) battery cell manufacturing facility in South Korea.

The Israel-based company best known for its world-leading solar inverter technology said on Wednesday that the “Sella 2” plant, developed in partnership with SolarEdge subsidiary Kokam, is now open and operating.

SolarEdge says the battery cell giga-factory, located in the Eumseong Innovation City of Chungcheongbuk-Do, is currently producing test cells for certification, with ramp-up expected during the second half of this year.

Once operating at full capacity, the Sella 2 will provide SolarEdge with its own supply of lithium-ion batteries, as well as the infrastructure to develop new battery cell chemistries and technologies.

The plant will make battery cells for SolarEdge’s home battery range, as well as for industrial applications and larger-scale energy stationary storage solutions.

This is good news for Australia’s battery market, where SolarEdge has just recently launched sales of its new DC-coupled, 9.7kWh lithium-ion Home Battery.

Home battery demand is on the rise in Australia, as the nation’s millions of solar homes seek to make the most of electricity generated on their rooftops – particularly in light of rising power prices across the NEM.

But uptake of home storage will not get anywhere near to the world-leading levels seen for rooftop solar in Australia until battery prices start to come down – and that journey down the cost curve has been slowed somewhat by current global component shortages and supply-chain disruptions.

Leading global battery project developers Tesla and Neoen have both warned this year that surging lithium prices, due to shortages of ready supply, may delay the delivery of some projects.

Tesla, which is diverting the bulk of its own battery inventory to its booming electric vehicle division, has upped the price of its Powerwall 2 home battery twice already so far this year, to a new all-time high for the Australian market.

In a statement on Wednesday, SolarEdge CEO Zvi Lando said the opening of Sella 2 was an important milestone for the company.

“It allows us to own key processes in the development and manufacturing of advanced energy storage solutions for our solar core business and additional applications, while further securing the resilience of our supply chain,” he said.

“We are committed to growing our business in the energy storage market, as well as our investment in battery cell technology and cell manufacturing, further strengthening our storage product portfolio.”

SolarEdge says Sella 2 also has the capability to scale its battery cell production capacity in the future to support the growing demand or a broader product range offered by the company.

You can read more about the SolarEdge Home Battery here.