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By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

In the ever-competitive microinverter business, even the slighest innovation or acquisition can tip the scales in favor of one company or another. SolarEdge is hoping its acquisition of a majority stake in a South Korean lithium-ion battery maker will give it just such an edge.

SolarEdge announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire a major stake in Kokam Co., Ltd. Headquartered in South Korea, Kokam is a provider of Lithium-ion battery cells, batteries and energy storage solutions.

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“Our technological innovation combined with Kokam’s world-class team and renowned battery storage solutions, will enable seamless integration with our current solutions, taking us a further step toward making solar installations smarter and more beneficial.”

“The acquisition of Kokam will enable us to grow our offering, adding already proven battery storage to our product portfolio,” said Guy Sella, CEO, Chairman and Founder of SolarEdge. “Our technological innovation combined with Kokam’s world-class team and renowned battery storage solutions, will enable seamless integration with our current solutions, taking us a further step toward making solar installations smarter and more beneficial.”

The acquisition of approximately 75% of outstanding equity shares of Kokam reflects an aggregate investment of approximately $88 million, including related transaction expenses. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Over time, the Company intends to purchase the remaining outstanding equity shares of Kokam that are currently listed on the Korean over the counter exchange through open-market purchases and otherwise, eventually resulting in Kokam becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of SolarEdge.

As battery storage becomes more commonplace in the residential sector, microinverters will have to become micro-storage devices as well. SolarEdge’s major competitor Enphase has moved aggressively in this realm, prompting moves like today’s announcement from the other side.

Watch for this battle to continue to heat up.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

What Happened:Reviews of Enphase’s Q1 2018 continue to be unusually positive, signaling that maybe its financial struggles may be receding in the rearview mirror.

Roth Capital continued to cheerlead from the sidelines after switching the company’s stock to a “buy” in February.
And the North Bay Business Journal breathlessly reported that Enphase may finally be on the brink of profitability.

SolarWakeup’s View: For me, this is a nice-time story.

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Enphase was one of the first companies with whom I met when I first joined the solar industry in 2011. Their microinverter was creating quite the buzz, and they looked like a company that would make it so big in solar microinverters that they would be printing money for the foreseeable future.

But in recent years, it had struggled to maintain its marketshare in the face of stiff competition from SolarEdge. most famous within the trade media for their jugglers and unicyclists at trade shows. The fact is Enphase had lost a step, and as recently as last year some worried it would fade away entirely.

Not so any more.

After narrowing its losses and naming a new CEO from the semiconductor industry, the company seems to have found its footing. It continues to cut costs out of its business model aggressively and appears to be on the verge of making a full comeback.

I’ll admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for Enphase because of their position as one of my first contacts in this industry I’ve come to love, so I’m glad to see them make a comeback, and I’ll be rooting for them in this corner.

And I’m always in favor of more competition than less – so I’m also hoping this forces SolarEdge to up their game even further as this competition returns to health.

This article was edited on 4/17/2018 to remove a reference to Enphase avoiding the tariff web, as it has not done so – and neither has anyone else because the comment period just ended. The editor regrets the error and thanks Rob Grimaldi (@cosmosrob1) on Twitter for catching that mistake.

More:

After a dozen years, Enphase Energy could be on the brink of making money (North Bay Business Journal)

Enphase Energy should be bought on any weakness, says Roth Capital

Enphase CEO Paul Nahi steps down during second-quarter earnings call

Wait, Enphase Did What Now?