Rolls-Royce takes majority holding in power storage specialist Qinous
• The Berlin company is to become the competence center for microgridsolutions within the group’s Power Systems division
• Merger creates broad range of battery storage options for microgrids of all sizes, encouraging eco-friendly distributed power supplies
• Total solutions from equipment and service to finance
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, GERMANY
Rolls-Royce will hold a 73.1% majority stake in Berlin-based electricity storage specialist Qinous GmbH from 15 January 2020. The Group is acquiring the shareholdings of all other current financial investors, including that of investment holdings company IBBBeteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (Berlin). The founding shareholders will continue to hold shares in the company and will retain their current roles in the business. It has been agreed not to disclose details of the purchase price or the other departing shareholders.
Rolls-Royce had already acquired a 19.9% stake in the former start-up back in October 2018. The company is involved in battery storage systems and associated control systems, and has already implemented storage solutions around the world.
“Our new subsidiary is to play a pivotal role going forward,” said Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems Division. “This is where we are going to pool all the division’s microgrid activities – from simple storage solutions to complete, complex microgrid solutions of various sizes and configurations. As a young, start-up-style company, Qinous brings expertise that is an ideal complement to Rolls-Royce’s industrial credentials. Together we will be able to respond quickly and with great professionalism to the demands of the market,” he continued.
The joint development work on a range of storage solutions in recent months has shown that the two companies are an excellent fit and, as Schell explained, “that we can achieve new market potential by integrating more closely. We see great market potential for sustainable power supplies, especially for distributed, environmentally-friendly MTUmicrogrid solutions.”
“Taking a majority holding in Qinous is a major step forward as we transform into a provider of integrated solutions for our customers. In future, we will be able to offer not just the technical solution and associated service offerings, but the finance too,” said Schell. Qinous has made a name for itself with modular, scalable, prefabricated plug-and-play battery products that combine renewable energy sources, power generators and battery storage technology. Rolls-Royce is a specialist in customized energy solutions with the worldwide sales and service network of its product and solution brand MTU.
“This even closer partnership between Rolls-Royce and Qinous is a logical and consistent step towards opening up the rapidly growingmicrogrid market. The functionality and reliability of the solutions have been proven in a large number of projects. Now, with MTU’s experience and global presence, we can meet demand more quickly and more comprehensively,” said Steffen Heinrich, co-founder and co-managing director of Qinous. “Also on behalf of co-managing director ReinhardEdelmann and co-founder Busso von Bismarck, I want to thank the seedcorn investors who made it possible to set Qinous up as a company, and who have supported us actively right through to the present day.”
Sabine Wolff, Investment Manager at IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaftcommented: “We are delighted to have found an internationally renowned partner for Qinous in the form of Rolls-Royce. The combination of renewable energies and storage solutions, which are already being used successfully in on-grid and off-grid applications and to safeguard grid stability, will also find further areas of application in tomorrow’s microgridmarkets. The partnership between Rolls-Royce and Qinous has become a success story for the Berlin operation, and presents us with an attractive exit opportunity.”
The modular component system of the coordinated Qinous/MTU product range will in future allow the configuration of solutions from 30 kW/30kWh to several megawatts. “The range of services and deliverables covers the needs of commercial enterprises, municipal utilities, energy suppliers, and even sizeable industrial plants. Together with Qinous, we can offer customers a wide range of microgrid solutions consisting of different combinations of power generation and storage systems. In this way we will ensure sustainable, cost-optimized and – above all – climate-friendly power supplies, whether connected to the public grid or independent of it,” said Cordelia Thielitz, Vice President of Rolls-Royce’sMicrogrid Solutions business. “The key to this is the comprehensive expertise in storage technology, the efficient integration of microgridcomponents and the development of intelligent control systems,” she emphasized.
Qinous employs around 40 people in Berlin. Rolls-Royce is engaged in research and development of microgrids and power generators at four locations: Friedrichshafen, Ruhstorf, Augsburg and Mankato (US).
Press photos are available for download fromwww.rrpowersystems.com/press
Read more about Rolls-Royce power generation based on medium-speed engines at www.rolls-royce.com/bergen
About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc
1. Rolls-Royce pioneers cutting-edge technologies that deliver clean, safe and competitive solutions to meet our planet’s vital power needs.
2. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany and employs around 11,000 people. The product portfolio includes MTU-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry. Under the MTU Onsite Energy brand, the company markets diesel and gas systems and battery containers for mission critical, standby and continuous power, combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids. Medium-speed engines from Bergen power ships and power generation applications.
3. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
4. Annual underlying revenue was £15 billion in 2018, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services.
5. In 2018, Rolls-Royce invested £1.4 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 29 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
6. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.
With best regards,
Wolfgang Boller
Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG
Communications
Maybachplatz 1
88045 Friedrichshafen/Germany
Phone: +49 7541 90-2159
Fax: +49 7541 90-3918
wolfgang.boller@ps.rolls-royce.com
Chairman of the Supervisory Board:
Axel Arendt
