Firms push home energy storage

One of the nation’s leading residential solar companies has teamed up with the world’s largest automotive battery supplier to provide energy storage for homes.

San Francisco-based Sunrun Inc., which bills itself as the largest dedicated residential solar company in the country, said Wednesday it will offer LG Chem’s energystorage technology. Sunrun will offer lithium-ion batteries as part of its BrightBox solar generation plus energy storage systems.

BrightBox is available only to residential customers in Hawaii and is expected in more states in coming months, although Sunrun did not give a time frame.

“The energy-storage market is advancing at a breakneck pace,” Michael Grasso, Sunrun’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “We are enabling a home energy management service that integrates rooftop solar generation with onsite energy storage.”

Wonjoon Suh, a global marketing department leader for LG Chem, said the partnership will produce a product at the forefront of solar and storage technologies.

“Sunrun understands the importance of giving consumers control of their energy by integrating storage with solar,” Suh said.

LG Chem is Korea’s largest diversified chemical company. It operates three main business units: petrochemicals, IT & electronic materials and energy solutions.

Solar panel companies increasingly have been creating partnerships with storage companies to offer similar products, including through such mergers as battery maker Tesla Motors and SolarCity.