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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-28 Daily Xml
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Sonnen

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:16): My question is to the extremely happy Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Can the minister update the council regarding the launch of Sonnen's manufacturing facility at the old Holden site in Elizabeth, and about recent investments into battery manufacturing in South Australia?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his question and his ongoing interest in the home battery industry. It was a pleasure yesterday morning to attend the opening of the global battery giant Sonnen's manufacturing facility at the old Holden site, alongside the Premier, Steven Marshall; the Hon. Dan van Holst Pellekaan, Minister for Energy and Mining; and Mr Christoph Ostermann, the Chief Executive of Sonnen, all the way from Germany.

This launch is a significant development in battery manufacturing in this state, and the symbolism of its being at the old Holden site was not lost on those attending. In fact, Mr Ross Pelligra, the chairman of the Pelligra Group, which owns the old Holden site, was there and I had a very enjoyable time talking to him about the exciting new tenants that he is talking to that potentially could come to that site. The last time I was there cars were still being manufactured, probably about a decade ago. It is great to see that that site will not just be bulldozed but that there are opportunities for innovative new industries to start up there.

Sonnen was the first company to announce its plans to locally manufacture up to 10,000 battery storage units a year, creating some 430 manufacturing and installation jobs. Significantly, they are now one of three global manufacturers to establish manufacturing operations in South Australia since the launch of the $200 million home battery subsidy scheme.

Members would be aware that Canadian energy storage firm Eguana Technologies is the latest global innovator to invest in South Australia's booming battery sector. Eguana Technologies' $12 million investment will see the company, in partnership with its partner company LG, assemble and manufacture its cutting edge Evolve home energy storing system here in Adelaide, creating up to 200 jobs over the next three years.

Eguana has two decades of experience in delivering fuel cell, photovoltaics and batteries, and delivers proven high-quality products from its high-capacity manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America. This investment comes after Chinese battery manufacturer, Alpha ESS, committed to manufacture and assemble their batteries in Adelaide, creating more than 100 new local jobs. Alpha ESS will initially manufacture battery storage in partnership with Minda Disability Support Services, later moving to a dedicated facility. By 2020, Alpha ESS plans to manufacture more than 8,000 of their SMILE5 batteries in Adelaide per year.

All three manufacturers will have access to the priority period for the Home Battery Scheme, which lasts until the end of the year. This will provide consumers with greater choice during this period. I would like to thank the team at Sonnen for the launch and tour yesterday, particularly Mr Christoph Ostermann, CEO of Sonnen, who travelled all the way from Germany for yesterday's event. It was a significant step forward in local manufacturing post the Holden occupation of that particular site and, indeed, Mr Ostermann was particularly taken with South Australia on his first visit here when we announced that Sonnen was coming to South Australia. It was one of those beautiful winter days. He had not been—

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Point of order: the question asked nothing about the weather, what sort of wine was drunk, or what they had for lunch at any given time of the visit. It is completely irrelevant to the question that was asked to talk about that.

The PRESIDENT: The Leader of the Opposition does have a point. For future reference, the Hon. Mr Ridgway, can you please keep your answers vaguely relevant to the question that was asked.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

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