Power-One, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of renewable energy and energy-efficient power conversion and management solutions, and Panasonic Corporation (NYSE:PC), a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products and solutions, announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance to develop, produce and market energy storage systems for the residential and non-residential markets worldwide combining Power-One inverters with Panasonic lithium-ion batteries and systems.

• Companies will collaborate to develop, produce and market energy storage systems for residential and non-residential markets worldwide

As part of the agreement, the companies will leverage their respective research and development and sales and marketing resources for joint product and market development around the world. Initial efforts will focus on developing the residential, commercial and utility-scale, grid-connected, energy storage systems business in Europe and the U.S. as well as the non-residential segment in Japan. Additionally, the companies have committed to develop the large-scale commercial and utility photovoltaic inverter business in Japan.

Energy storage systems have been garnering a lot of attention lately for their ability to reduce investment in equipment through power leveling and the reduction of peak power consumption in large scale renewable energy systems as well as for their use as backup power supplies in the event of natural disasters and other emergencies. It is estimated that the size of the global market for energy storage systems will exceed $11 billion by 2020, mainly in Europe, North America, and Japan, where renewable energy technology is now being adopted.