Following the recent news (Monday 4^th November) regarding EDF’S acquisition of Pivot Power;

Nirushan Rajasekaram, Power Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his views on the news:

“The purchase of Pivot Power is part of EDF’s strategy to become a market leader in the charging infrastructure and storage space. In March 2018, the company announced its plan to add ten gigawatts (GWs) of storage capacity by 2035, with an investment outlay of $8bn. At present, EDF has around 5GW of operational storage assets and the procurement of Pivot Power will add around 2GW of capacity, which are under various stages of development in the UK, to the company’s portfolio.

“GlobalData forecasts the battery storage market in the UK to reach $1.4bn in 2023. The business case for batteries is continually evolving, with new revenue streams opening up, such as frequency response, balancing mechanism and merchant power when integrated with renewables.

“Of late, large energy suppliers such as EDF are facing significant market pressure from smaller energy utilities, who are expanding their customer base by providing relatively cheaper tariffs. Retailing electricity has become highly competitive and this purchase could mean that the company is seeking other profitable avenues for growth.

“Moreover, Pivot Power specializes in the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure segment. With the government promoting the transition towards a low-carbon economy, an increase in the adoption of EVs is expected, which is also an alternative growth opportunity for EDF. This acquisition echoes its earlier purchase of PowerFlex Systems in September, a start-up pioneering the EV charging network technology in California, a state with significant EV penetration.”

“With these acquisitions, EDF will now have the capacity to offer comprehensive solutions, across the distributed energy ecosystem, which comprises of solar, storage, and EV charging.”