Gordon Clements General Manager of VARTA Storage talks about his expectations for 2019, in which markets he expects growth and what the company plans worldwide.
2018 was a year of further growth for VARTA Storage, consolidating the position as market leader in Switzerland, with the element system, and a top 3 position among storage manufacturers across Europe for all storage products. Gordon Clements, General Manager of VARTA Storage GmbH, has been accompaning this growth story since 2016. The company has strong growth plans for this year. In this interview, Gordon Clements talks about current developments and trends in the energy storage market and gives an outlook of upcoming products of VARTA Storage for residential energy storage.
With what prerequisites does VARTA start this year?
Gordon Clements: In the DACH region we grew strongly last year establishing a consolidated market position with an overall share of 15%, but significantly higher in Switzerland. Across Europe we have now trained and qualified around 4,500 installers, who are the most important element in our supply chain. Now is the time to harvest from our network and to continue to grow our sales.
And how does it look internationally? How would you rate 2018?
Gordon Clements: Internationally we focus on Italy, Australia and the UK. In Italy we are growing steadily and are well positioned. We aim for at least 20% market share this year and the initial signs show that we are already well on the way to achieve our goal. Despite being slow to gain traction, the market in the UK is now number three in Europe behind DACH and Italy. Here our exclusive partnership with Waxman Energy, the introduction of our pulse storage system which has grid charging included and the well accepted VARTA brand will facilitate our market growth.
Particularly exciting was our Australian market entry in 2018 with our single-phase VARTA pulse energy storage system. Entering a market which has around 2 million residential solar installations, comparable to Germany, with our AC-coupled system which is ideal for retrofit installations gives VARTA a great opportunity for growth. Proximity to China brings different competitors than we see in Europe but VARTA’s commitment to safety, reliability and German quality together with reasonable brand acceptance appeals to the Australian consumer. Advancements in demand response and virtual power plant (VPP) applications in Australia, incentives from state and federal governments and a VARTA team of more than 500 installers will generate success Down Under in 2019.
What is the focus of VARTA Storage in 2019?
