One more after Total announced the creation of a gas, renewables and power division to help drive its ambition to become a top renewable power generation and trading company within 20 years, it agreed to buy France based battery manufacturer Saft Groupe for $1.1b.

With this purchase, the company seeks to expand its renewable energies business, and to complement the acquisition in 2011 of a majority stake in US solar power systems maker SunPower, for which Total paid $1.3b, Reuters reported.

“The combination of Saft and Total will enable Saft to become the group’s spearhead in electricity storage,” Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné said.

As Bloomberg wrote, Total’s move followed wind-farm investments by competitors Royal Dutch Shell and Norway’s Statoil, while France’s Engie snapped up solar developer Solairedirect last year. Even Saudi Arabian Oil, the largest crude exporter, is studying expansion in solar power in preparation for a world after oil.