Sunrun, the largest residential solar installer in the US, is experiencing a challenge that has, thus far, mostly been reserved for automakers.

While the US solar tariff saga caused headaches for Sunrun’s solar-panel inventory in the second quarter, it’s batteries that are actually a limiting factor on the company’s growth, executives said during the company’s Q2 earnings call on August 3.

• Sunrun saw 33% growth in new solar installations in the second quarter compared with 2021.
• Rising utility costs and incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act are expected to contribute to continued strong demand from US customers, CEO Mary Powell said.

That said...Even as an industry leader, Sunrun’s ability to grow its energy storage business is limited by the fact that there just aren’t enough batteries. Sunrun has installed more than 42,000 solar and battery systems in the US to date, but it can’t keep up with the number of customers asking for energy storage.

“If we look at the demand for storage, I think it far outpaces the supply that we have of batteries. If we look at the volume growth rate in our storage customers, that has been robust—far outpacing the overall growth in the business,” CFO Danny Abajian said during the earnings call.

Big picture: Demand for behind-the-meter energy storage has grown from 3 gigawatt hours in 2018 to 9 GWh last year, Rho Motion research shared with Emerging Tech Brew.

By 2030, it expects the market to grow by more than 10x to reach over 100 GWh.

Read on about how solar installers are navigating booming battery demand.—GD

The semiconductor market continues to be, in a word, thorny. The industry is now reportedly bracing for a downturn due to an oversupply of chips—aka the exact opposite of the challenge it’s dealt with for the last few years.

• Christopher Danely, an analyst at Citigroup, told Bloomberg he expects the coming semiconductor downturn to be “the worst in at least a decade, and possibly two.”

That would be a huge reversal in fortune for chipmakers: Global semiconductor revenue and units shipped both surged to record-highs last year. Meanwhile, Gartner recently slashed its growth projection for this year from 13% to 7%, the Financial Times reported, and now expects that semiconductor sales will shrink 2.5% in 2023.

The reason? As Bloomberg noted, it’s notoriously difficult for the semiconductor industry to reach the hallowed ground of supply-demand equilibrium, in large part because it takes so long to build new capacity.

The industry is seeing that play out now. Just as global chipmakers have begun ramping up production to deal with the almost two-year-strong shortage situation, consumers are beginning to pare back big purchases, causing manufacturers to cut demand for chips.

• In February, there was enough global semiconductor inventory for ~1.2 months of production, per VLSI data cited by the FT.
• By July, there was 1.7 months’ worth—a 42% increase.

Big picture: As another reminder of how complex the situation is, some customers (e.g., automakers) are still struggling to get the specific chips they need, per Bloomberg, even despite the glut.

Click here to read on-site.—DM

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Emerging Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

As the General Manager and CPO of iHeartRadio, I heavily influence the product vision and prioritize what type of digital products and features we build. I lead a team of talented technology experts that work to innovate and invent delightful ways to discover and consume audio content that our audience will love.

What’s your favorite emerging tech project you’ve worked on?

We just launched a new feature within iHeartRadio that allows radio and podcast listeners to participate with their favorite shows directly within the iHeartRadio App. TalkBack is the feature and it allows you to tap on a mic, record your comments and feedback directly through the app, and then resume playback automatically for the least amount of interruption. Your voice is then sent directly to the studio for the host of the station or podcast to include it in their show.

What’s the best piece of tech-related media you’ve read/watched/listened to?

I love the podcasts Tech Stuff, Brand Wars, and How I Built This—not always 100% tech, but they delve into tech matters [like] head-to-head battles and the how and why behind some fascinating tech stories.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?

I paid off my student loans back in the day as a cyber-squatter. I bought and sold domains to companies that failed to register them prior to launching.

Stat: In 2030, the world’s supply of copper—which is absolutely key for rolling out climate tech—may only be enough to meet 80% of the demand, per the IEA.

Quote: “It’s your boss’s voice. It sounds like the person you talk to every day.”—Nick Giacopuzzi, senior consultant at StoneTurn, about the increasingly popular audio deepfake attacks hitting businesses

Read: We might be getting closer to the second iteration of the foldable phone.

Learn: Learn how to start building your empire with Learning Brew’s Business Essentials Accelerator. Apply here today.

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• The VC slowdown is happening faster for AI startups
• Hyundai’s self-steering ship subsidiary says it has made hundreds of sales
• Aquantis is trying to draw currents from currents with subsea turbines