sonnen Produces First sonnenBatteries in South Australia and expands its investment in Australia

Adelaide, 27 November 2018 – Germany’s sonnen Group, the global market leader for smart energy storage systems and operator of the largest energy sharing platform in the world, announced today that it has commenced the manufacturing of sonnenBatteries in Australia with the first sonnenBatteries to be assembled at its manufacturing facility in Elizabeth.

sonnen’s investment in South Australia has reached two new investment milestones with the recruitment of 50 new full-time employees in Adelaide to manage its production, call centre and technical support operations. sonnen has further expanded its warehousing in Australia with an additional 1,000 square metres of warehousing space leased at LIONSGATE Business Park to store sonnenBatteries.

These landmarks were announced at the launch of sonnen’s manufacturing facility at the former Holden factory. The facility was officially opened by Hon. Steven Marshall MP, Premier of South Australia, Hon. Dan van Holst Pellekaan MP, Minister for Energy and Mining and Christoph Ostermann, Chief Executive Officer of sonnen.

Mr Ostermann said, “Today, we celebrate a new era for clean energy manufacturing in South Australia with the assembly of our first sonnenBatteries at Elizabeth. This marks a new milestone for sonnen as we’ve commenced production in the Asia Pacific region for the first time in the company’s history.”

“sonnen is committed to our expansion and investment in South Australia with the hiring of a highly skilled operations team right here in Adelaide. This will serve as a foundation for sonnen’s growth and expansion in the future,” Mr Ostermann added.

Representing sonnen for the recruitment of the company’s production staff in South Australia, Randstad’s Public Sector Director, Jacquie Moreau said, “Randstad is delighted to be working with sonnen to kick off one of South Australia’s largest manufacturing recruitment drive this year. Through this, we’ve tapped in to the diverse and high quality talent that we know South Australia offers to advanced manufacturing businesses like sonnen.”

Ross Pelligra, Chairman of Pelligra and owners of the LIONSGATE Business Park where sonnen has a lease for its manufacturing and warehousing facility said, “sonnen has established a presence in Elizabeth at a time when South Australia’s manufacturing industry is undergoing a period of transition. Their choice to build a world-class manufacturing facility in the former Holden factory and sonnen’s investment is an endorsement of South Australia’s advanced manufacturing talent and industry.”

sonnen aims to produce 10,000 batteries a year to meet demand from Australian households and for export to Asia Pacific. It plans to create up to 430 new jobs in South Australia as it ramps up production as a home battery supplier for the $100 million South Australia Home Battery Scheme.