Mercedes-Benz Energy and Vivint Solar plan to integrate battery storage with rooftop solar systems for the U.S. residential market.

The batteries will use the same battery technology used in its electric and hybrid vehicles.

"As Mercedes-Benz electrifies its vehicle fleet, solar plus storage is essential to enable those vehicles to be powered by clean energy," says Boris von Bormann, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Energy Americas, LLC in a statement. Mercedes-Benz Energy in 2016 began offering the battery-solar concept in Europe through a German business unit.

Mercedes-Benz Energy says that with the growing electrification of transportation, demand for lithium-ion batteries is rising and the stationary energy storage sector presents opportunities for growth.

Daimler AG entered the stationary battery storage business in 2015 with its subsidiary Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE GmbH & Co. KG, responsible for the development and production of drive batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles.

In addition to providing a backup power source if the grid goes down, the combined solution may help customers reduce energy costs, Vivint Solar says. For instance, in areas with time-of-use electricity rates, customers can use the batteries to store excess solar energy produced by the system during the day and then consume it during periods of peak energy usage in the evening and at night when electricity rates are typically higher.

Each energy storage system will consist of modular 2.5 kWh batteries that can be combined to create a system as large as 20 kWh. Vivint Solar says it will customize each system based on the customer's energy consumption needs.

The partners will first offer the combined system to California consumers.