The Europe-headquartered manufacturer of energy storage solutions has invested in technology, opened a new office in Toronto and strengthened its North America team

Socomec, the global manufacturer of energy storage solutions (ESS), has announced an investment of $5 million to support ESS activities in North America. Most of the funds are focused on expanding the ESS testing and certification capacity of its Toronto facility by an additional 7,636 kilowatt hours (kWh), the average daily energy consumption of 255 US households.

The technology investment includes three new BESS: a 500kVA storing 1,116 kWh of energy and two BESS 1500kVA storing 3,260 kWh of energy. The investment also spans a range of advanced technologies to support the BESS, which includes grid, PV and battery simulators, a dedicated switchgear with power meters, and Hardware in the Loop simulation capabilities.

Socomec has installed over 150 energy storage systems across North America over the last 10 years, applying its expertise in grid services, systems services and microgrids. The company also has deep experience of the North American market and Power Conversion covering Static Transfer Switch, Static Switch, UPS and Hybrid Systems.

Socomec's investment builds on this regional expertise and experience through additional appointments of long-term executives Bruno Plisson as Senior Vice-President, Jerome Mattern as Head of Sales and Giovanny Diquerreau as Head of Technical Development and Industrialization for North America. The newly appointed North America team will be based across the new office in Toronto, Canada and the existing office in Boston, Massachusetts.

This expanded presence in North America will allow Socomec to provide localized and customized support to its energy storage customers, from pre-sale activities and post-sales activities, to specifications, engineering, project management, on-site commissioning, training, and maintenance.

Bruno Plisson, Senior Vice-President of North America, Socomec, said: "Regulations governing the electrical grid and energy storage systems vary immensely between Canada and the US and between states within the US. That's why we have expanded our operations to ensure our experts are available locally to provide customers - including utilities, communities, commercial and industrial buildings - with tailored support.

"This expansion comes after a decade of experience in the region, with hundreds of energy storage systems installed in the US already. As a result, our customers recognize our established reliability in delivering everything from grid services to systems services, and they know we are a partner they can bank on for the future."