The old factory Holden of Adelaide recharged with the Sonnen home battery systems

By Helen Frost

published

November 27, 2018 15:26:21

The German energy giant, Sonnen, has officially opened its home battery badembly site in the old Holden factory in North Adelaide.

At least 50 new employees have started working in the last few weeks, with all production roles being filled by former automotive brand employees.

Former Holden employee Adam Williams left three years ago and said the return to his former workplace, Elizabeth, was surreal.

"It's a bit heartbreaking because two years ago, this place was in turmoil," he said.

"We were pumping cars, there were thousands of people here.

"Enter today and you can go through the badembly plant, it's a bit touching."

Today, 14 people who were working for Holden are back on the floor and Mr. Williams said that the excitement had returned to the workplace.

"It's great to see an industry come back, expand the site and give the northern suburbs the opportunity to find jobs in the area," he said.

Sonnen's managing director, Christoph Ostermann, said he was particularly pleased to be in the Holden factory, symbol of the Australian industrial tradition.

More than 430 jobs will be created by the end of 2019, with at least 100 people employed by the end of the year.

"We are already developing and shipping the first systems of the factory (…), we have already created 100 other indirect jobs," he said.

"It's the first storage system and the first manufacturing facility in Australia … we want to leave a lasting footprint on both sides for the environment and the economy."

"The largest virtual energy network in the world"

A partnership program has also been formed with TAFE SA to train installers in the new energy storage technology.

Prime Minister Steven Marshall said that having Sonnen's manufacturing center in Australia, Asia, and the South Pacific in Adelaide was a milestone in revitalizing the state's industrial base.

This decision comes after the state government announced its $ 100 million investment in domestic battery storage to provide cheaper and more reliable power.

Under this program, 40,000 households in South Australia will have access to grants of up to $ 6,000 and low interest loans. Nearly 4,000 residents have already requested quotes.

Ostermann said his company would like to deploy more than 50,000 systems over the next five years.

"We want to create in South Australia one of the largest virtual networks in the world to support the network infrastructure and provide South Australian customers with clean and affordable energy," he said. -he declares.

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