Shell Exits Home Battery Market as Sonnen Changes Hands at a Fraction of Its Purchase Price

Shell has offloaded Sonnen, the German home battery manufacturer it acquired in 2019 for close to €500 million, to Munich-based investment firm Tiven. The divestiture marks a costly retreat from the residential energy storage segment for the oil major.

The financial toll has been steep. Sonnen’s performance weakened considerably in the years after the acquisition, forcing Shell to inject additional capital as recently as 2024 just to sustain operations. Handelsblatt estimates Shell’s cumulative losses on the investment reached roughly €1 billion. The current deal is valued at approximately €100 to €200 million — a fraction of what Shell originally paid.

Tiven, according to Handelsblatt, is positioning Sonnen for eventual resale through restructuring rather than long-term ownership. Sonnen itself projects cautious optimism: company representatives say 2025 has brought a return to growth after two difficult years, as demand for residential battery systems begins to recover.

Market conditions remain fragile. Installers are hesitant to scale up capacity amid ongoing uncertainty, and the rebound in home battery demand is gradual rather than robust. Sonnen’s strategic shift was visible at a recent Munich renewable energy industry exhibition, where the company forewent its customary stand — signalling a deliberate pivot toward closer partner collaboration over conventional marketing.

Shell’s exit highlights the risks large energy companies face in distributed storage. Tiven has yet to disclose any public roadmap for Sonnen beyond the planned restructuring.

Source: PV Magazine