SUNlife operates more than 400 PV rooftops today. Every single one qualifies for storage rollout following the pilot blueprint. The 200 kWh at the pilot site is the compact variant, and around 50 percent of the rooftops can host storage up to 1 MWh. Full build-out: ~ 240 MWh of BESS capacity across our own portfolio. The entire fulfillment cycle (acquisition, back office, engineering, grid notification, operations) runs on our own AI tools.
UPS capable · black start < 200 msIn-house AI · entire fulfillment cycleAcquisition · engineering · notification · operations
New build of a retail site as first deployment. PV under 100 kWp, BESS separate from the PV lease, storage with a secondary role as UPS backup for the building. Blueprint for every follow-on site.
0
kWp installed
System size deliberately < 100 kWp · no EEG direct-marketing overhead · fits a 160 A service · no Certificate A required.
Blueprint system: same components, same contract set, same permitting set. Every follow-on site skips the full engineering loop.
Multi-revenue
PPA to the site operator + balancing through the storage + backup service. Three independent cash flow sources per rooftop.
Tax setup
Separate lease agreements for PV / storage; the extended trade-tax reduction under §9 No. 1 GewStG remains intact.
02 Architecture
System · four layers, one platform.
Rooftop · storage · controls · marketing. Each layer is specified vendor-agnostic and identical on every follow-on site.
Engineering · stack
PV · storage · inverter · transformer · control system
☀
PV generator
Monocrystalline modules · 600 W class · 165 modules · south-tilt mounting · yield forecast PVsol-certified.
99 kWp
⚡
PV inverter
3-phase · 90 kVA · grid-forming per VDE-AR-N 4105 · backup capability on demand.
90 kVA
▣
Battery storage (BESS)
LFP cell technology · 40 kW AC · 200 kWh usable · separate container · UPS capable · pre-qualified for balancing.
200 kWh
▦
Grid coupling & metering
160 A service · 3 interval meters (PV · BESS · consumption) · cascade metering supplier ↔ site.
160 A
⌬
Control system & marketing
EMS on own stack · edge + cloud · direct marketer integration · automatic schedules FCR / aFRR / intraday.
24/7
03 Resilience
UPS · black start · critical loads
Retail sites carry the cold chain, the point-of-sale backend, and security systems. On grid outage the storage keeps critical loads running off-grid, a real balance-sheet lever for the operator.
Standard system · without storage
Grid outage
❄
Freezers + chilled shelves
Cold chain breaks after 60-90 min · stock loss
Off
▦
POS + servers
Connectivity lost · revenue stops
Off
⌬
Lighting & security
Emergency light kicks in · main lighting off
Off
↻
HVAC
Immediate shutdown
Off
SUNlife system · with BESS
UPS active
⚡
Black start from BESS
Island mode < 200 ms after grid outage
Active
❄
Freezers + chilled shelves
Fully sustained · 6-10 h reserve
Active
▦
POS + servers
Priority circuit · sales capable
Active
⌬
Lighting & security
Full lighting active
Reduced
< 200 ms
Switch-over time
Island mode starts automatically · no separate backup logic needed.
6–10 h
Reserve time for critical loads
Depending on load profile · averaged for retail standard.
Optional
Second storage as UPS buffer
Separate lease · separate accounting · tax neutral.
04 Contract
Three parties · clearly separated.
The rooftop owner keeps the extended trade-tax reduction under §9 No. 1 GewStG. PV and storage leases are stand-alone. The PPA runs directly between asset operator and site tenant.
⌂
Owner entity
Rooftop owner · lessor
Leases PV rooftop area to the asset operator
Leases BESS footprint to the storage operator (separately)
Earns lease revenue, no own power generation
Trade-tax reduction under §9 No. 1 GewStG preserved
⚡
SUNlife Energy GmbH
Asset operator · EPC
Engineers, builds, operates PV system and BESS
Signs PPA with the site operator
Markets the storage in balancing / intraday
Takes care of maintenance, insurance, 24/7 monitoring
▦
Site operator
Power offtaker · PPA partner
Buys solar power below grid tariff
Backup / UPS function without additional capex
No investment · no operating obligation
Contract term aligned with the rental agreement
Easement subordinated · suspensively conditional release deed as standard · 99 kWp threshold deliberately chosen · no EEG direct-marketing obligation · no system-bundling risk on follow-on sites.
05 Portfolio
400+ existing sites · ~ 105 MWp · all expandable
SUNlife manages more than 400 existing PV rooftops totaling ~ 105 MWp. Every single site qualifies for storage rollout following the pilot blueprint: same grid connection point, identical contract set, identical notification process.
Portfolio · Germany
400+ existing sites · ~ 105 MWp · all expandable
Map legend
Existing PV · expansion candidate~ 310
BESS rollout · in planning~ 90
Pilot · live5
0
Existing sites
~ 0 MWp
PV portfolio
~ 0 MWh
BESS rollout · full build-out
Representative view: points show the cluster centroids of our portfolio and a typical spread. Detailed data per site sits in our data room.
06 Rollout
Storage rollout across our own portfolio.
The pilot is the blueprint. 400+ existing rooftops are queued for BESS rollout: same container, same contract, same notification process. 80 percent of steps are already automated.
Rollout · 400+ sites
One blueprint · identical on every follow-on rooftop
1
Pilot · live
→
0+
SUNlife existing sites
→
~ 240 MWh
BESS rollout · full build-out
~ 6 Wo.
Time to BESS notification · per site
Pilot today. Target with full automation: < 2 weeks.
~ 18 Mo.
To storage rollout · full build-out
Rollout across the 400+ already leased rooftops.
~ 0 %
Share of automated steps
Acquisition · data room · grid notification · reporting.
07 AI sourcing
In parallel: new sites via AI sourcing.
While the storage rollout scales across the existing portfolio, four AI generators feed the next wave of sites in parallel. Sales triages the top hits from a fully automated pipeline. Growth beyond the existing base.
AI · sales pipeline
MaStR · Ausschreibungen · Industry pulse · KI-Outreach
⊞
MaStR crawler
Existing PV sites from the German market master data register
Daily diff analysis of all PV systems above 100 kWp · geocoding · owner match · automated contact discovery. Currently ~ 28,000 hits across DACH.
◈
Tender bot
Public & commercial PV tenders
Realtime sweep of DTAD · TED · Bundesanzeiger · procurement platforms. Full-text classification by LLM · auto briefing · prioritization by site fit.
◊
Industry pulse
Chain & developer intelligence
Crawls chain expansion plans · building permits · press releases of discount chains. Delivers "new sites before they show up in MaStR".
↗
AI outreach
Hyper-personalized first-touch outreach
For each lead the system generates a dossier (site · owner · potential) and a pre-drafted first contact, only the green-light is left for sales.
4x daily pipeline generators · 1x nightly consolidation into the Notion CRM · 1x morning "daily briefing" to sales.
08 In-house AI · fulfillment
In-house AI across the entire fulfillment cycle.
Acquisition, back office, engineering, grid notification, operations: we back every step of the value chain with custom-built AI tools. No off-the-shelf SaaS, but in-house agents that fit our processes exactly. Goal: the first German PV platform with end-to-end agentic fulfillment, fully built in-house.
Automation · end-to-end
Utility forms · back office · engineering · operations
1
Acquisition
AI generators deliver leads · dossier auto-created · first outreach prepared.
PVsol sizing · structural pre-check · land register check · grid pre-check as an agent chain · 3-pass audit.
PVSolRTB-AuditStatik
4
Grid notification
Forms auto-filled, signed, sent to the grid operator · status tracking per site.
Forms-BoteIDASMail-Agent
5
Operations
EMS runs the storage 24/7 · ticket bot on anomalies · direct marketer · automated reporting.
EMSMonitoringDV
Acquisition (live) · back office (live) · engineering (RTB multi-agent in testing) · grid notification (in development) · operations (pilot with first site).
09 Business case
Per site and across the portfolio.
The lever per site is modest. Across 400 sites it becomes substantial. Three cash flow sources per rooftop: PPA · balancing · backup / UPS service.
Cash flow sources per site (indicative, EUR p.a. net)
€
PPA to site operator
Fixed price < grid tariff · 15-20 year term · indexed.
primary
⇆
Balancing / Intraday
FCR / aFRR via direct marketer · day-ahead vs. intraday arbitrage.
secondary
⏚
UPS / backup service
Availability fee · alternative to diesel genset maintenance.
optional
∑
Portfolio effect
Across 400 sites: pooled balancing · scale synergies · insurance · maintenance.
×400
Figures indicative, subject to spot-price scenario, system size, site load profile. Detailed model per site held in the SUNlife financial planning tool.
10 Roadmap
2026 → 2027 · four stages
From pilot to platform. Four quarters, four clear stages.
Q2 / 2026 · in progress
Pilot live · contract set frozen
First site under construction. Lease, PPA and storage contract frozen as standard templates and legally reviewed. First co-located storage tenders prepared.
Q3 / 2026
Existing portfolio rollout · BESS on the first 50 sites
Co-located storage on the first 50 existing rooftops. First direct-marketer contracts live. Grid notification runs fully agentic for the first time.
Q4 / 2026
AI sourcing & back office fully operational
All four pipeline generators in production. Sales works exclusively off the AI briefing. The back office bot handles email, tasks, follow-ups.
All existing rooftops equipped with co-located BESS. SUNlife Energy as the first German PV platform with a fully agentic-operated storage park, and AI sourcing running in parallel for the next wave of sites.
Next step
Schedule a meeting with Mark Breit
Want to dig into the storage rollout concept, sketch a pilot project, or see the fulfillment stack live? Mark Breit, Managing Director of SUNlife Energy GmbH, takes the time personally.
