Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR) is moving toward commercialization, with near-term revenue expected from industrial and data center applications, upcoming orders from Stellantis, and expansion through global Tier 1 suppliers and Asian distribution partnerships, positioning the company for broader adoption of its B-TRAN technology.
Its first design win customer is nearing completion of their prototype testing for a B-TRAN-enabled solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) ahead of a planned rollout later this year. Automaker Stellantis has internally approved a custom device order with potential for multiple EV applications, and the company added its fourth and fifth global Tier 1 automotive suppliers. The company also signed a distribution partnership with Taiwan’s Kaimei Electronic, expanding its reach in Asia, the world’s largest power electronics market.
In this Q&A, CEO Dan Brdar discusses the company’s quarterly commercial updates, with a focus on customer traction, industrial and data center applications, product qualification, and distribution partnerships, while highlighting near-term revenue opportunities and long-term growth potential for B-TRAN-enabled technology.
Proactive: Looking back on the quarter, what were some of the highlights for you?
Dan Brdar: We've made significant traction with our customer base. We brought on fourth and fifth global Tier 1 auto suppliers, both of which are now evaluating our technology. We've already shipped parts to one, and we’re in the process of shipping parts to the other. They are considering using our technology for EV contactors to protect the battery and electrical systems in electric vehicles.
Stellantis has notified us that they are about to place a purchase order for development work, which will include engineering services as well as parts for a custom package. This package will incorporate a unique thermal management system and provide semiconductor part commonality between their contactors and drivetrain.
We also added a new distributor, Kaimei Electronic Corporation in Taiwan, which distributes a wide range of products in Asia. This expands their portfolio and strengthens our presence in the region.
Additionally, we shipped solid-state circuit breaker reference designs to several large companies, including a couple of previously announced Forbes Global 500 companies. These designs are intended to help them evaluate our technology for either solid-state circuit breakers or potential EV contactors.
Overall, it’s been an excellent quarter with several big wins.
With your first design win customer nearing rollout and the Stellantis deal progressing, when do you anticipate seeing meaningful revenue contribution from these programs?
The Stellantis program will generate revenue later this year. Some of this will come from non-recurring engineering work, so we’ll start seeing revenue from that award soon. In the meantime, we’re working with them to finalize the EV contactor and drivetrain inverter programs, that will add additional revenue.
For our first design win customer, they sent us unidirectional 20-amp breaker using silicon carbide devices and we sent them back 63-amp bidirectional B-TRAN breakers in the same enclosures. They’re completing their prototype testing of these upgraded prototypes in their lab and plan to present them to their target customers, especially in data centers, because they want to roll out their first product this year.
We expect to see revenue from that initial 63-amp breaker, followed by revenue from additional products as they’ve also indicated interest in rolling out additional higher-rated products. We’re focusing on the circuit breaker segment first, as industrial product design cycles are significantly shorter than those in automotive.
We’ve talked a lot about the automotive side. You mentioned data centers—an interesting industry. Could you share your strategy for scaling B-TRAN adoption across adjacent markets or different industries?
What many people don’t realize is that there’s been a real need for solid-state circuit breakers for quite some time. With all the distributed sources and loads being added to our electrical system—solar panels, home and commercial energy storage, EV charging stations, and new data centers—there’s growing demand for fast-acting protective devices.
Take data centers, for example. If there’s a disruption in power quality, they need to isolate themselves immediately and transfer to backup power to maintain uptime. Solid-state circuit breakers act over 100 times faster than conventional electromechanical breakers, which is why the demand is increasing.
The challenge has been finding semiconductors capable of handling high power with low conduction losses—exactly what our B-TRAN technology enables. The large global circuit breaker companies we’re working with are targeting data centers, EV charging installations, and renewable energy and energy storage systems that all need better circuit protection.
In data centers, another key application is the automatic transfer switch. This switch detects power quality issues from the utility grid and instantly transfers the load to on-site backup power without disrupting voltage or damaging equipment.
Overall, the infrastructure and demand driven by electrification, data center expansion, and renewable energy are creating a huge need for better solutions—and that’s exactly what we’re bringing to the market.
With multiple global Tier 1 automotive suppliers now collaborating with Ideal Power, how do you see the adoption of B-TRAN-enabled SSCBs evolving across the broader EV market?
I think we’ll actually see solid-state circuit breakers adopted in industrial applications first, and that’s where we expect to see revenue ramp initially. This is largely because working with automakers involves very long product design cycles. In the industrial market, designing a new product—whether it’s an EV charging system or a power converter for renewable energy—typically takes about a year to 18 months.
Automotive design cycles, by contrast, can take three to five years because they must meet strict automotive codes and standards, undergo extensive crash testing, and comply with numerous other requirements that don’t apply in industrial applications.
So, we expect to see revenue from industrial circuit breaker products first, while simultaneously progressing through paid engineering work with automakers. We anticipate technology adoption in EV contactors first—essentially circuit breakers in electric vehicles, with five to eight per car depending on the model—followed by integration into the EV drivetrain.
This gives us both near-term and longer-term markets, which collectively represent a very large opportunity—about a $7.6 billion serviceable addressable market that we’re targeting.
How do you anticipate the distribution partnership with Kaimei Electronic will accelerate B-TRAN adoption in Asia, and are there plans to expand further into other regions?
Kaimei actually sells a lot of electronic products in Asia and is a well-known company providing a wide variety of components. They already have many established customers who could be potential users of our products, and they don’t currently offer anything comparable. This makes them a great fit—bringing expanded opportunities for them while giving us a partner with strong relationships across the power-related product space.
We expect to add other distributors over time, as Asia is one of the largest target markets. In the semiconductor space, roughly 40% of customers are in Asia and require power semiconductor devices. We already work with distributors like Sekorm and RYODEN and are very happy with their performance. Adding Kaimei strengthens our presence further, and as the market continues to grow, we’ll likely add a few more distributors, each chosen for their specific strengths and customer relationships.
You mentioned confidence in achieving all 2025 milestones, including a second development program with Stellantis, new global Tier 1 automaker collaborations, and starting an initial sales ramp in the second half of 2025. Can you provide more color on the timing, expected impact, and any new developments from these initiatives that investors should watch closely?
For the rest of the year, we’re focused on getting another program in place with Stellantis. You can also expect additional design wins, particularly related to industrial solid-state circuit breaker applications.
We intend to increase the power rating of our products later this year, and updated data sheets will be issued at the new power ratings. We feel confident about completing that and moving through automotive qualification. Our wafer runs for the qualification process are nearing completion. Once they’re done, the devices will be packaged, and testing will be completed to satisfy all testing hours and other test requirements needed to officially call our B-TRAN automotive qualified.
Overall, we are excited about the projects in the queue and the way they’re staged. Some are naturally back-end loaded due to the time required for certain steps, but we’re on track for all of them.