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Hanwha SolarOne unveils new storage partnership

Korea-based photovoltaic module manufacturer, Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd has announced a new partnership with U.S. storage system company, Silent Power.

Hanwha SolarOne's photovoltaic modules will be bundled together with Silent Power’s distributed energy storage device.

Hanwha SolarOne

According to a statement released, the Hanwha Group recently invested US$8 million in Silent Power’s Series B funding round. "The investment in Silent Power is an aggressive move into an important market downstream and lays the foundation for a robust partnership," it said.

Under the partnership, Hanwha’s photovoltaic modules are expected to be packaged together with Silent Power’s distributed energy storage device, the OnDemand Energy Appliance. The final product is expected to be co-marketed to the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The statement added that the first "bundled product offering" will be available this September.

Commenting on the partnership, Charles Kim, president of Hanwha SolarOne said, "We know from our customers that energy storage is an essential key to unlocking the full potential of renewable energy. It enables a smarter energy grid and achieves reliability and value for a solar system."

According to Silent Power’s website, the company’s OnDemand Energy Appliance is available in either five or 10 kW electrical output, with 10 kWh (20 kWh optional) of energy storage.

"The OnDemand Home Energy Appliance improves network reliability by creating a microgrid architecture through its distributed energy production by providing energy storage at the edge of the grid. This distributed multipoint production/storage design eliminates a single point of failure or vulnerability and is more secure in terms of our nation’s energy security," it further explained on the website.

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