Siemens has entered into a deal with AES to form new 50/50 joint venture (JV) company Fluence.
The JV will provide power storage technology and services, combining AES’ experience in deploying energy storage with Siemens’ global sales presence. It will also bring together AES Advancion and Siemens Siestorage platforms.
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In addition, Fluence will offer scalable, flexible, and cost-competitive energy storage solutions to its customers.
With global headquarters in Washington, the proposed JV will also have offices in Erlangen and select cities across the globe.
Subject to regulatory and other approvals, the deal is expected to be completed by Q4, 2017.
Siemens Energy Management Division CEO Ralf Christian said: “As the energy storage market expands, customers face the challenge of finding a trusted technology partner with an appropriate portfolio and a profound knowledge of the power sector.
“Fluence will fill this major gap in the market.
“With the global reach of an experienced international sales force, as well as Siemens' leading technology platform Siestorage at its disposal, Fluence will be perfectly equipped to serve this very interesting market.”
According to IHS Markit, the grid-connected energy storage sector is estimated to expand from a total installed capacity of 3GW at the end of 2016 to 28GW by 2022, an equivalent to the power used by 18.6 million households.
So far, Siemens and AES have either installed, or have been awarded, 48 projects totalling 463MW of battery-based energy storage across 13 countries.
Image: A Siemens converter tower with HVDC Plus technology used for grid connections. Photo: courtesy of Siemens
