Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR), a company known for its innovative B-TRAN technology, continues to make big strides with the recent completion of prototypes of a solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) product for an OEM customer. In a recent discussion with Tim Burns, the company's CFO, he outlined the rapid development of these prototypes, which were designed in collaboration with a key OEM customer and are expected to accelerate market adoption of B-TRAN-enabled SSCBs.
Burns also shared insights into Ideal Power's strategy for expanding its customer base, including efforts to secure joint development agreements and design wins with major industry players. The company is focused on industrial sectors to reach profitability with longer term opportunities for very large markets such as industrial motor drives and electric vehicles.
Proactive: Talk to us a little more about this initial design. First of all, what does it mean for the company and its shareholders?
Tim Burns: This is our first opportunity to have B-TRAN in a commercial product sold by an OEM customer. We partnered with an OEM who moved quickly to finalize the joint development agreement with us for the design. Initially, we agreed upon an aggressive timeline to complete the work by the end of June. However, after securing the agreement, we decided to further accelerate the process, given that this would be the first OEM product incorporating B-TRAN in the market.
We set ambitious internal goals to complete the solid-state circuit breaker prototypes for this customer by the end of the first quarter—and we achieved that. In fact, we shipped the prototypes at the end of Q1 2025. The process involved modifying existing solid-state circuit breaker prototypes from the OEM customer that originally used silicon carbide MOSFETs. We replaced the MOSFETs and control systems with our B-TRAN devices and drive circuitry, all within the customer’s existing package. This approach enables our customer to bring the product to market more quickly and begin gathering customer feedback.
Additionally, our design introduced bidirectionality to the circuit breaker—an inherent advantage of B-TRAN technology—while also reducing total losses by over 60%. And because we use silicon-based devices instead of silicon carbide MOSFETs, we achieve these improvements at a lower cost. We believe this is a great opportunity for the market to see that our technology is truly enabling for solid-state circuit breakers.
Beyond this initial design, what steps is Ideal Power taking to accelerate the adoption of B-TRAN among other major circuit protection manufacturers?
We're taking a multi-pronged approach. First, we're working with very large companies that are evaluating our technology—companies such as two Forbes Global 500 power management leaders. These are multi-billion-dollar enterprises with formal, structured processes, so adoption takes time.
At the same time, we’ve identified competitors of our current customer—companies that may be more agile and willing to adopt new technology more quickly than the market heavyweights. We’ve compiled a substantial list of potential customers that, while smaller than the multi-billion-dollar corporations, still represent millions of dollars in revenue opportunities for us.
Our strategy involves systematically engaging with these companies, leveraging what we’ve learned from our current customer projects, and presenting a compelling case for B-TRAN as a superior alternative in solid-state circuit protection. We're using a refined pitch deck tailored to this market and working through our target list systematically to drive adoption.
Given the strong results from Ideal Power’s first joint development agreement, have other potential customers expressed interest in similar agreements? If so, which industries are showing the most demand?
Anytime we make a commercial announcement that demonstrates progress and shows that products are moving toward market adoption, it helps accelerate timelines with other customers. Even if a company is hesitant to be the first adopter, once they see their competitors embracing the technology, they’re much more likely to speed up their own adoption process.
Generally, we’re seeing the most interest in SSCBs for applications utilizing DC-based power sources. That includes anything involving batteries or renewable energy as well as circuit protection for the grid infrastructure needed to support these sources. Connecting renewables, energy storage and EV fast charging to the grid is a great opportunity for solid-state circuit breakers because DC-based systems tend to see faster rising, higher fault currents than AC-based ones, making advanced circuit protection a critical need. Many companies exploring solid-state solutions have considered silicon carbide, but we’re hearing from customers that silicon carbide comes with high losses and high costs. Our B-TRAN solution directly addresses both of those concerns.
The announcement highlights a significant revenue opportunity with this customer. What kind of milestones or additional design wins would be necessary for Ideal Power to reach sustained profitability? Is that something on the horizon with this announcement?
Achieving profitability would only take a few major design wins, especially if we’re talking about multi-billion-dollar companies. While I can’t name specific companies, think of industry leaders like Eaton, Siemens, Schneider, ABB, or GE. Winning just a few key design contracts with companies of that scale would be enough for us to reach profitability.
Our focus is on securing those design wins and expanding the product families incorporating our technology with these customers. Solid-state circuit breakers, for example, don’t come in a one-size-fits-all format—they’re produced in various sizes for different applications. Each major customer could ultimately launch multiple, or even dozens, of products incorporating our semiconductor solutions.
This year, our priority is signing up early adopters, like our first customer with this design win, which will be a catalyst for our anticipated revenue ramp in the second half of 2025. And beyond that, it’s about securing additional design wins that set us up for a steep sales ramp and profitability in the coming years.
Our business model is asset-light, meaning our operating expenses won’t increase significantly as we scale. Even in a best-case scenario where we achieve rapid growth, we’re still a relatively small team. The key is reaching scale, securing design wins, and generating the revenue needed to achieve cash flow breakeven and, ultimately, profitability.
Tell us how this positions the company for success in the coming quarters.
Solid-state circuit protection is the market that will drive us to cash flow breakeven and profitability. Our technology offers clear advantages, including lower conduction losses, inherent bidirectionality, and the use of silicon—a more cost-effective material than silicon carbide.
Our recent design win and completion of deliverables for the related joint development agreement put our product into an OEM product soon to be in the market, which means other companies we’re in discussions with are likely to respond once they see their competitors adopting our B-TRAN solutions. This dynamic will be a key driver of our revenue ramp starting in the second half of this year and fueling our long-term growth.
We're extremely excited about our B-TRAN technology for solid-state circuit breakers, but our technology has applications across multiple large, global markets. While solid-state circuit breakers may be the first to adopt our B-TRAN solutions, other markets—such as renewable energy, EV charging, energy storage, industrial motor drives, UPS systems for data centers, and especially the massive opportunity for contactors and traction inverters in electric vehicles—present significant potential.