Ideal Power, a developer of power conversion technology, has signed a multi-year purchase agreement with Sharp, whereby Sharp will use Ideal Power’s 30-kW battery converter in its SmartStorage systems. Ideal Power has received an initial order from Sharp under this agreement, and it expects order volumes to scale along with Sharp’s SmartStorage business.
Sharp’s SmartStorage systems use onsite battery energy storage that can reduce monthly utility demand charges for commercial and industrial building owners. Demand charges are the fastest growing part of utility bills for commercial customers and in some cases can reach half of a company’s monthly utility bill. Both California and New York are already positioned as attractive early markets for the SmartStorage solution, with other states expected to follow. GreenTech Media projects that 600MW of new commercial storage will be installed in the United States by 2020 with the primary benefit of reducing demand charges.
“After evaluating a number of power converter options for Sharp’s SmartStorage System, we ultimately selected Ideal Power’s 30kW battery converter based on its favorable combination of features and performance. We have been testing the converters for some time both in laboratory and commercial deployment settings, and are very pleased with the performance, reliability and ease of use,” said Carl Mansfield, General Manager of Sharp’s Energy Systems and Services Group.
Ideal Power’s 30kW battery converter provides both battery charger and inverter functions at high efficiency in a compact, modular and easy-to-install solution that lowers installed system cost. It is based on the company’s patented Power Packet Switching Architecture™ (PPSA) that provides electrical isolation without the use of a bulky and expensive transformer. Among the many benefits of PPSA is the unique ability to reduce the weight, size, cost and efficiency loss compared to conventional systems.
“Sharp is a global leader in photovoltaic systems whose entry into the market for commercial battery energy storage systems is a meaningful validation for both the potential size and relative timing of this market opportunity,” said Dan Brdar, Chief Executive Officer, Ideal Power. “We are pleased to support Sharp’s SmartStorage system in delivering cost effective solutions for commercial buildings in order to reduce utility demand charges, and believe this multi-year purchase agreement is confirmation of Ideal Power’s leading technology competence in this burgeoning vertical.”