Shell has finalized the sale of German residential energy storage provider sonnen to the investment firm Tiven, concluding a three-year search for a buyer. This divestment marks a significant financial setback for the energy giant, which is expected to record a loss of several hundred million euros on the transaction. The move aligns with Shell’s broader strategy to shed non-core assets and pivot toward higher-growth opportunities. Meanwhile, Tiven intends to restructure the business to prepare it for a future resale, navigating a challenging market environment currently impacting several major German energy storage manufacturers.
The acquisition of sonnen by Tiven, an investment firm linked to Aurelius co-founder Gert Purkert, follows Shell’s full takeover of the company in 2019. Shell had initially invested in the business in 2018 for approximately €500 million as part of an effort to bolster its residential energy storage and services portfolio. However, financial performance at sonnen has struggled recently, with revenues dropping from €263.5 million in 2023 to €78.4 million in 2024.
This sale is the latest in a series of divestments by Shell, which has recently offloaded its 5 GW Sprng Energy portfolio to Aditya Birla Renewables and sold a 4 GW European onshore renewables business to TotalEnergies. The company maintains that these actions are necessary to focus on higher-quality growth areas.
The broader German energy storage sector is currently under intense pressure. Manufacturers are grappling with falling battery prices, stiff competition from lower-cost Asian suppliers, and high domestic production costs. These market headwinds have already claimed other casualties, such as VARTA AG, which recently filed for insolvency, and sonnen’s own subsidiary, Enersol, which ceased operations due to a lack of demand for residential solar PV and storage systems.