Ideal Power Successfully Completes Deliverables Related to First Design Win for Solid-State Circuit Breakers
Rhea-AI Summary
Ideal Power (NASDAQ: IPWR) has successfully completed deliverables for its first design win in solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs) three months ahead of schedule. The company partnered with one of Asia's largest circuit protection equipment manufacturers through a joint development agreement announced in December 2024.
The integration of B-TRAN® devices into the customer's SSCB prototypes achieved over 60% reduction in total losses and added bidirectionality, meeting or exceeding all customer-defined specifications. The prototypes have been shipped to the customer for further testing and early market introduction.
Based on customer projections, this initial product could generate several hundred thousand dollars in revenue for Ideal Power in its first year, potentially exceeding $1 million in the second year. The customer's long-term projection suggests potential sales of a million units annually across multiple planned B-TRAN®-enabled SSCB products targeting renewable energy, energy storage, utility distribution, data centers, and EV applications.
Positive
- Completed first design win deliverables 3 months ahead of schedule
- B-TRAN® integration achieved >60% reduction in total losses
- Projected revenue: Several hundred thousand dollars in first year
- Potential to exceed $1M revenue in second year
- Customer projects possible sales of 1M units annually
- Product fits into customer's existing design, accelerating time to market
Negative
- Current revenue generation still pending market launch
- Profitability dependent on securing additional design wins
Insights
Ideal Power's early delivery of B-TRAN®-based solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) prototypes represents a significant technical achievement with substantial commercial implications. The >60% reduction in total losses compared to silicon carbide devices is a game-changing improvement in a field where even single-digit efficiency gains are celebrated.
What makes this development particularly notable is the added bidirectionality feature, which eliminates the need for separate devices to handle power flow in different directions. This creates a compelling technical advantage in applications requiring bidirectional power flow like renewable energy systems and grid infrastructure.
The fact that B-TRAN® devices easily fit into the customer's existing SSCB design suggests minimal integration challenges, reducing barriers to adoption. This drop-in replacement capability significantly shortens the customer's time-to-market while delivering superior performance.
The target applications—renewable energy, energy storage, and utility distribution networks—represent sectors where efficiency directly impacts operational costs and system performance. In power systems, a 60% loss reduction translates to less heat generation, smaller cooling requirements, higher reliability, and ultimately lower total cost of ownership.
If successful in their initial market, expansion into data centers makes technical sense, as these facilities demand ultra-reliable power protection with minimal energy waste. The EV market potential is equally compelling, where bidirectional capability enables both charging and vehicle-to-grid applications with a single device.
This announcement signifies Ideal Power's transition from R&D to revenue generation, with a clear path to potential profitability. The three-month early delivery demonstrates execution capability—a critical factor for emerging technology companies with negative cash flows.
The revenue projections provide tangible near-term visibility:
More compelling is the longer-term projection of potential million-unit annual sales as the customer expands their B-TRAN®-based product lineup. At even modest per-unit economics, this would transform Ideal Power's financial profile.
The CEO's statement that "a few key design wins would be enough to get us to profitability" provides a concrete benchmark for evaluating future announcements. Each new design win should now be assessed against this profitability threshold.
This initial customer serves as both revenue generator and technology validator. Their position as "one of the largest circuit protection equipment manufacturers in Asia" provides Ideal Power with a credible reference customer when approaching other potential partners currently evaluating the technology.
The SSCB market spans multiple high-growth sectors (renewables, energy storage, data centers, EVs), diversifying revenue potential rather than tying the company's prospects to a single industry. This reduces market-specific risks while maintaining focus on the core B-TRAN® technology advantage.
In connection with our design win announced in December 2024, the Company entered into a joint development agreement for a SSCB product incorporating multiple B-TRAN® devices with one of the largest circuit protection equipment manufacturers in
"Our first design win and related joint development agreement represented significant validation of B-TRAN® as an enabling technology for solid-state circuit breakers. We are now excited to deliver the circuit breaker prototypes to this customer a full quarter ahead of schedule. This customer will be the first to offer an innovative ultra-low loss and inherently bidirectional circuit breaker to a market that has long been waiting for such a solution. We expect the marketing and successful launch of this B-TRAN®-enabled SSCB product to lead to an expanded opportunity with this customer and accelerate engagements and potentially design wins with the large global companies currently evaluating our technology for circuit protection applications. Given the size of these companies, any one of them could represent millions of dollars or more of annual revenue to us over time. A few key design wins would be enough to get us to profitability," stated Dan Brdar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ideal Power.
Based on the customer's projections, for Ideal Power, the opportunity from this customer's first B-TRAN®-based product alone could translate to revenue of several hundred thousand dollars in its first year of sales, with the opportunity to exceed a million dollars in revenue in the second year of sales. This initial B-TRAN®-enabled SSCB will be marketed to renewable energy and energy storage equipment providers and utility electric distribution network companies. We expect this product to be their first of multiple products incorporating B-TRAN® into SSCBs as the customer is interested in offering a suite of B-TRAN®-enabled SSCBs with a wide range of ratings. As a result, the overall opportunity with this customer could eventually lead to sales of a million units per year based on the customer's projections. Other potential applications for future products with this customer include data centers, lighting and air conditioning systems, and electric vehicles, including vehicle-to-grid power conversion and EV contactors.
About Ideal Power Inc.
Ideal Power (NASDAQ: IPWR) is the developer and innovative provider of its broadly patented bidirectional semiconductor power switch, creating highly efficient and ecofriendly energy control solutions for electric vehicle, electric vehicle charging, renewable energy, energy storage, UPS/data center, solid-state circuit breaker and other industrial and military applications. The Company is focused on its patented Bidirectional, Bipolar Junction Transistor (B-TRAN®) semiconductor technology. B-TRAN® is a unique double-sided bidirectional AC switch that delivers substantial performance improvements over today's conventional power semiconductors. Ideal Power's B-TRAN® can reduce conduction and switching losses, complexity of thermal management and operating cost in AC power switching and control circuitry. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.IdealPower.com, on LinkedIn, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
Safe Harbor Statement
All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. While Ideal Power's management has based any forward-looking statements included in this release on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the timing of revenue and revenue potential for the customer's B-TRAN®-based SSCB product, our expectation that this product will be the first of multiple products from the customer incorporating B-TRAN® into SSCBs, that the overall opportunity with this customer could eventually lead to sales of a million units per year based on the customer's projections, and our expectation that the marketing and successful launch of this B-TRAN®-enabled SSCB product will lead to an expanded opportunity with this customer and accelerate engagements and potentially design wins with the large global companies currently evaluating our technology for circuit protection applications. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control that could cause actual results to materially differ from such statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not limited to, the success of our B-TRAN® technology, including whether the patents for our technology provide adequate protection and whether we can be successful in maintaining, enforcing and defending our patents, our inability to predict with precision or certainty the pace and timing of development and commercialization of our B-TRAN® technology, the rate and degree of market acceptance for our B-TRAN®, the impact of global health pandemics on our business, supply chain disruptions, and the expected performance of future products incorporating our B-TRAN®, and uncertainties set forth in our quarterly, annual and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, we operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment where new and unanticipated risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. We disclaim any intention to, and undertake no obligation to, update or revise forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.
Ideal Power Investor Relations Contact
Jeff Christensen
Darrow Associates Investor Relations
jchristensen@darrowir.com
703-297-6917
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SOURCE IDEAL POWER INC.
FAQ
What performance improvements did B-TRAN® devices achieve in IPWR's solid-state circuit breakers?
What is the projected revenue for IPWR from their first SSCB design win?
Which markets will IPWR's B-TRAN®-enabled SSCB target initially?
What is the potential annual unit sales volume for IPWR's B-TRAN® devices with this customer?
How far ahead of schedule did IPWR complete their first SSCB design win deliverables?
