Dive Brief:
- Mercedes has gone public with the cost of its in-home storage offering, telling Tech Insider that the 2.5 KWh units will cost $9,000 to $10,000, including the inverter and installation.
- Though they are lighter, it appears to make the batteries significantly more expensive than Tesla's PowerWall, which holds 6.4 KWh and has an installed cost around $7,000.
- The Mercedes battery is currently for sale only in Germany, and there are no plans yet to make it available in the United States. Manufacturer Daimler AG has seen strong demand for the units, however, and is moving to expand distribution within Europe.
Dive Insight:
Tech Insider has the details on Mercedes' home storage offering, which despite only being available overseas, serves as an interesting datapoint on the emerging market. To complicate matters, there isn't a net metering policy in Germany, which according to the tech news outlet, means that the company's battery cannot draw power from the grid. It has been used, however, to charge electric vehicles via solar energy.
The battery has been available since last year, but the pricing was unclear because it was only offered through utilities.
"There is tremendous interest in our energy storage units and we have already received numerous orders," Harald Kröger, who heads development of electronic products at Mercedes-Benz Cars.
The company plans to expand production and sales both in Germany and on the international market in the next few months, according to a statement from Daimler AG.
"We can count on the support of expert partners for our sales of the Mercedes-Benz energy storage units. The ideal contact for the end customer is their local electrical specialist. We are convinced we can offer our customers an attractive product at a competitive price," Kröger said.
The Mercedes battery weights 66 pounds, and customers have the option of stacking eight of the units. Tesla's PowerWall units run about 200 pounds, but nine of them can be used together.
