Ideal Power adds European power firm to evaluation program
B-TRAN technology to be evaluated for static switches in data centre UPS systems, solar inverters, and energy storage products
Ideal Power Inc, a US firm pioneering a bidirectional semiconductor power switch called B-TRAN, has signed a deal with a European-based global power conversion and energy storage supplier.
The unnamed company, which has $500 million in annual sales, will be testing and evaluating B-TRAN power semiconductors for its static switches in data centre UPS systems, solar inverters, and energy storage products, in an effort to improve energy efficiency and cut operating costs for their customers.
"We are very excited to add a global power conversion supplier in diverse power markets to the roster of the B-TRAN test and evaluation program," said Dan Brdar, president and CEO of Ideal Power. "This global supplier presents multiple opportunities for us as they address three of our target markets: UPS systems for data centres, renewable energy and energy storage. We look forward to gathering their feedback on their application-specific requirements to drive our product roadmap and to potentially secure a product development or other commercial agreement with them. Initial feedback from other program participants to date is overwhelmingly positive."
B-TRAN technology is said to reduce power losses by 50 percent or more over conventional power switches, depending on the application. B-TRAN's higher efficiency results in less heat being generated and therefore significantly lower thermal management requirements, requiring significantly smaller surface area to dissipate heat and giving rise to potentially smaller original equipment manufacturer products.
