Ideal Power NASDAQ: IPWR said it continued to advance commercialization of its B-TRAN power semiconductor technology during the second quarter of 2026, citing customer prototype programs, a growing sales funnel, a new wafer-foundry supply agreement and increased activity tied to anticipated 800-volt DC power architectures for AI data centers.
President and Chief Executive Officer David Somo said the company’s lead Asian customer is finalizing development of a low-current solid-state circuit breaker, or SSCB, prototype that Ideal Power expects to ship later in the quarter for internal testing. That customer expects B-TRAN-enabled SSCB prototypes to be available for its 800-volt AI data center and energy-grid customers during the fourth quarter of 2026, with initial low-volume orders for prototype builds also anticipated in the fourth quarter.
Ideal Power is also discussing two additional projects with that customer: a medium-current SSCB for 800-volt DC data centers, energy storage, EV charging and industrial microgrids, as well as a low-current SSCB for smart industrial buildings. Technical discussions on the medium-current product are underway, Somo said.
Data Center and Automotive Programs Advance
Under a letter of intent signed during the second quarter, Ideal Power and an industry partner are co-developing an intelligent B-TRAN-enabled SSCB prototype intended for evaluation by a U.S. hyperscaler. The product is being developed for a planned NVIDIA Rubin Ultra 800-volt DC data center power system, with prototype delivery targeted by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026.
Somo said the prototype is also planned to be offered to other hyperscalers and AI data center operators using the NVIDIA Rubin Ultra Power Architecture or comparable 800-volt DC distribution systems. Ideal Power and its partner plan to introduce the intelligent SSCB concept at the Open Compute Project Global Summit in October.
During the question-and-answer session, Somo said hyperscalers vary in how directly they engage with component suppliers, depending on their approach to system integration and relationships with suppliers. He said the company sees an opportunity to work at multiple levels of the supply chain, including with traditional customers that build circuit-protection products, higher-level systems integrators and potentially hyperscalers.
In automotive, Ideal Power delivered a second set of Gen 2 B-TRAN custom-package samples and development kits to Stellantis. The companies are working on a detailed analysis of the customer’s solid-state contactor system-level specifications to optimize the solution and align remaining purchase-order deliverables.
Somo said this work affected the timing of expected deliverable completions but did not change the company’s view of the EV contactor opportunity with Stellantis. Completed deliverables support the next project milestone scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.
“The level of depth in the discussions with Stellantis” has increased in recent months, Somo said, describing work involving packaging and other elements of a total system solution.
Supply Agreement and Reference Design Kits
Ideal Power entered a long-term supply agreement with a high-volume, automotive-qualified wafer foundry in Asia, excluding China. The company said it achieved functional first silicon after beginning discussions with the foundry in the first quarter.
According to management, the foundry has manufactured more than 1 billion power semiconductors and has capacity to support high-volume industrial and automotive customers. Chief Financial Officer Tim Burns said the agreement is intended to support long-term scaling and a cost structure consistent with Ideal Power’s targeted gross margin of more than 40% at scale.
The company also introduced an SSCB reference design kit intended to help customers evaluate its technology and accelerate their own product development. One distribution partner has placed an initial stocking order for the kits, which Ideal Power expects to deliver in the coming weeks. Somo said multiple customers have requested access to the new kits.
Ideal Power said it is prioritizing industrial reliability testing and qualification because AI data centers, energy storage and grid infrastructure represent its nearer-term revenue opportunities. It plans to begin the JEDEC industrial qualification process in the current quarter and complete it in the fourth quarter. Automotive qualification will be scheduled in line with customer timelines, management said.
The company’s sales funnel grew to more than $400 million in potential revenue opportunity from about $300 million at its mid-May call. Management said the funnel is split roughly evenly between automotive and the combined AI data center and other industrial markets. Primary applications include SSCBs and solid-state EV contactors, with growing interest in solid-state transformers.
Financial Results and Cash Outlook
Ideal Power reported modest revenue for the second quarter, noting that initial customer orders for product samples and development kits are expected to be small before potentially increasing as customers move through design cycles, qualification processes and inventory builds.
The company posted a second-quarter net loss of $3.4 million, compared with a net loss of $3 million in the prior-year period. Operating expenses rose to $3.6 million from $3.1 million, driven primarily by higher stock-based compensation, personnel costs and non-cash patent impairments tied to a rationalization of pending patent applications.
Burns said the company’s 105 issued patents were not affected by the portfolio rationalization, which is expected to lower future patent spending.
- Second-quarter cash burn was $2.5 million, flat from the year-earlier quarter and up from $2.3 million in the first quarter.
- Cash and cash equivalents totaled $41.3 million as of June 30.
- Ideal Power raised $27.7 million in net proceeds through a registered direct offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants that closed May 18.
- The company had no debt as of June 30.
- Management expects third-quarter cash burn of about $2.7 million to $2.9 million and full-year 2026 cash burn of about $10.3 million to $10.5 million.
Burns said the higher expected full-year cash burn compared with 2025 primarily reflects additional sales and engineering hires. He added that the company intends to continue managing expenses aggressively despite the stronger balance sheet.
Management also said a shelf registration filed in July was “good housekeeping” following the expiration of a prior shelf registration and does not indicate current plans to raise capital. Burns said the company could use registered shares for a potential strategic investment by a customer or partner, but stated that Ideal Power has no current intention to conduct another capital raise.
About Ideal Power (NASDAQ:IPWR)
Ideal Power Inc, based in Austin, Texas, specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced power conversion solutions for a range of energy applications. The company's core technology is its proprietary Coupled Power Delivery (CPD) architecture, which enables efficient bi-directional conversion between DC and DC, as well as DC and AC power streams. These solutions are widely applied in renewable energy systems, energy storage, microgrids, and electric mobility platforms.
Ideal Power's product lineup includes bi-directional DC converters, solid-state transformers, and intelligent power controllers.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
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