Ideal Power Inc. announced a global leader in circuit protection, industrial fuses and power conversion electronics with over a billion in annual sales entered into an agreement with Ideal Power to test and evaluate B-TRAN power semiconductors for circuit protection in industrial markets including industrial fuses, renewable energy and energy storage power conversion, rail/transportation, and electric vehicle power management. Circuit protection is required for renewable energy grid interfaces and EV power connections. The B-TRAN technology has clear advantages in applications including EV power transfer, DC microgrids, energy storage systems and railway substations.

These applications require fast-acting circuit protection to minimize electrical faults. In addition, B-TRAN-based circuit protection also provides dramatically lower conduction losses and bidirectional capability thereby enabling greater efficiency while simultaneously lowering component count and system costs. Ideal Power's patented semiconductor power switch, B-TRAN, can reduce power losses by 50% 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. B-TRAN offers the industry's only symmetric bidirectional operation, reducing the number of components required for an application by 75% compared to a conventional bidirectional switch utilizing IGBTs and diodes. This highly efficient and unique symmetric operation provides a strong competitive advantage in bidirectional applications, which are growing rapidly as transportation electrifies and power generation shifts to renewable energy coupled with energy storage.

Ideal Power plans to continue adding potential customers to the test and evaluation program. The program is expected to remain an embedded process in the Company's sales and marketing effort and a source of input for its next generation of products. The Company's outreach continues to generate significant new interest resulting in inquiries from potential customers about B-TRAN, the SymCool power module, the SymCool IQ intelligent power module and participation in the test and evaluation program.