Scott Collie for New Atlas:  Car manufacturers are racing to get their electric cars onto the market, but that's not the only battery-powered battle being played out: they're also keen to get their batteries into family homes. Tesla has made its Powerwallplans clear, and Mercedes-Benz Energy has been talking a big game with its energy storage systems, which will soon be finding their way into homes in the UK.
Although they'll be slotting into homes, the Mercedes-Benz batteries have their roots in the automotive world. Developed by ACCUmotive, the Daimler subsidiary responsible for the batteries in production Mercedes hybrids, the lithium-ion cells can be used to store energy generated by home solar systems or wind turbines.
Each battery pack can store 2.5 kWh, and the modular nature of the system means up to eight can be combined for a total capacity of 20 kWh. Each individual unit is a compact block, and the batteries can be integrated and wall-mounted in one neat unit for a clean look. That's a different approach to the Tesla Powerwall, which comes in 7.5 kWh and 10 kWh capacities, and can be scaled to 58 kWh using multiple units.  Full Article: