The German market for home energy systems is changing: self-generation and self-consumption are moving into the focus of many consumers due to renewable energy sources such as solar. The demand is driven by current market developments and the electricity and gas price crisis. New solutions and competitors are emerging the energy market, putting traditional component manufacturers under transformation pressure.
A holistic range is gaining importance by combining individual components, such as photovoltaic systems, power inverters, electricity storage, heat pumps and wall boxes with solutions for self-sufficient energy supply and consumption. The electricity, heat and mobility sectors are merging, and many customer needs can hardly be served in isolation. That is why more and more component manufacturers, energy suppliers, IoT companies and installers are forming strategic partnerships. Their goal: to build a holistic system offering for smart energy generation and management. In doing so, they are encountering growing competition. Non-industry players from the automotive or ICT sector are also entering the market and offering their solutions.
In the context of this umlaut whitepaper, a team of experts has examined in more detail the developments in Germany. Based on the findings, six central theses were derived for the past and future development of the ecosystem for home energy systems:
Thesis 1: Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are evolving from single component providers to system solution providers.
Thesis 2: The home energy ecosystem is in its early stages and is characterised by uncertainties and flexible partner networks.
Thesis 3: The home energy management system is the main driver of convergence processes in the ecosystem and forms the network for complementary products.
Thesis 4: Competition no longer takes place at component level, but at system level.
Thesis 5: In the medium term, it can be assumed, that either coordinators or integrators will have the strongest positioning in the ecosystem.
Thesis 6: The importance of strategic partnerships is increasing for establishing system solutions.
