SMA Launches Powerwall Compatible with Sunny Boy Storage PV Inverters

SMA is aiming to capture the market for retrofitting existing home PV installations with energy storage systems with a new AC-coupled version of its Sunny Boy inverter suitable for high-voltage batteries.

The Germany-based inverter maker, which supplies inverters for off-grid, grid-connected and so-called hybrid systems, has announced the launch of Sunny Boy Storage, a battery inverter that the company says is “…particularly designed for high-voltage batteries such as the Tesla Powerwall”.

An SMA representative told WIRED that the Sunny Boy Storage is compatible with the Powerwall. In this regard, the device joins inverters from Fronius and SolarEdge, which were the only ones confirmed to be compatible when the Powerwall was launched last year. SolarEdge has also just released its StorEdge inverter into international markets.

Once accounting for about 40% of the global PV inverter market, SMA has recently experienced turbulence, which some analysts attribute mainly to increasing competition in the inverter field. However, in November, the company raised its 2015 revenue target, and Urbon said that the company had completed a turnaround, including "ahead of schedule"