Good day, and welcome to the iAccess Alpha Virtual Best Ideas Fall Investment Conference 2026. Our next presenting company is Ideal Power. If you would like to ask a question during the webcast, you may do so at any point during the presentation by clicking the Ask Question button on the left side of your screen. Type your question into the box and click Send. I'd now like to turn the floor over to today's host, David Somo, Chief Executive Officer of Ideal Power. Please go ahead.
Okay. Thank you, and thank you for all those who are joining us today. This is David Somo, President and CEO of Ideal Power. To start off with, I'd like to quickly introduce who's on the call with you today. In addition to myself, we have Tim Burns, our Chief Financial Officer. To round out the executive staff here at Ideal Power, two members that are not, or excuse me, at Ideal Power, two members that are not here with us on the call today would be Clay Beltran, our Chief Operating Officer, who joined us early this year, and Mark Russell, our Chief Commercial Officer, who has been with us since the end of 2025.
From a shares outstanding basis, we have just over 16 million shares outstanding. There are about 3.4 million pre-funded warrants. We also have about 1.2 million employee options and stock units. So altogether, about 21 million fully diluted shares. Our cash balance, and this is as of last reporting, which was June 30th, is just over $41 million, which provides us with several years of cash, and we have a clean balance sheet with no debt.
Now I'd like to talk about how I view the investment thesis in Ideal Power. This is something that I used as a formula for evaluating companies in previous roles where I was responsible for M&A and how I evaluated my decision to join Ideal Power in November of last year. When looking at technology companies, the first thing I tend to do is look at technology and products. Do they have a product in their technology that has a strong fit to secular mega trends in the market that is well-protected from competition and differentiated? The second area is looking at markets. Are the company and the technology and products they develop addressing large and growing markets? Do they have access to key customers that can help validate their products in market and scale revenue with the company?
And do they have an operating model that as they scale revenues, that drops a strong operating profit and overall profitability for the company? Evaluating here at Ideal Power, I think we check each one of those boxes. From a technology and products perspective, we have a unique and differentiated product that is highly patented, specifically for the applications we are targeting in solid-state circuit protection and related applications. We are addressing a multi-billion dollar market opportunity that is growing over the next several years as part of a secular mega trend in high voltage DC power applications.
We have access to global customers and have a growing sales funnel of more than $400 million in opportunities today and an operating model that is CapEx, low CapEx requirements that can scale as we grow revenue with the company. So what is B-TRAN? For those of you who may not be familiar with it's a monolithic bidirectional power switch that was developed here at Ideal Power. Its uniqueness is really in that we develop a symmetrical device on both the top and the bottom side of the wafer, which allows us to conduct and block current flow and voltages in both directions natively with a single device.
The same device can be deployed across multiple applications, and the compelling advantages for B-TRAN for the applications that we are targeting, which are generally conducting applications in areas like solid-state circuit protection, EV contactors, and battery disconnect units, is its native bidirectional conduction and blocking capability, the lower conduction losses that it was designed to deliver in always-on or conducting applications, and that by doing so, with fewer components needed to conduct and block in both directions, you can actually achieve higher power density and lower system costs with fewer components. Quickly looking at the competitive landscape for B-TRAN in the applications that we are targeting around bidirectional power switching. If you look at more traditional devices, they typically have anywhere between two and four devices that are required for bidirectional conduction and blocking.
In the case of silicon carbide, it requires a minimum of two devices in a back-to-back configuration to be able to conduct and block in both directions, whereas B-TRAN is able to do that with a single device. Older IGBT technology does that typically with four devices or more. B-TRAN was specifically optimized to deliver low conduction losses, and in the bottom left graph here, you can see that when compared to IGBTs or silicon carbide MOSFETs, it can deliver substantial reduction in losses, which improves power efficiency. It makes simpler the thermal solution for the device and results in energy savings where it's deployed. Now, looking at the portfolio of products that we've developed, the first is a B-TRAN discrete device that's in an industry-standard package. It's rated to 1,200 volts and 75 amps.
Again, this one device is able to conduct and block in both directions in the applications it's used in. The second device we are developing for release is SymCool, which incorporates four B-TRAN die in the first version, thereby increasing the current rating of what the device can conduct, and providing a convenient small form factor where customers may be developing applications that require higher current ratings than a single device is capable of achieving. This is also rated 1,200 volts and 200 amps currently.
Then the final product that we will offer is B-TRAN die, which is for those customers who are developing their own modules or their own packaging solutions, want to buy known good die that has been tested, to prove functionality and to be able to integrate that in their specific packaging, depending on their system requirements. B-TRAN, from a patent perspective, is now at 105 patents, and as you can see here on the slide, those are across multiple regions and geographies, with 54 patents issued in the U.S. and 51 foreign patents to protect our inventions. Sorry, we're waiting for the slides to catch up here. Okay.
If the moderator is still on, is it possible for them to push the slide forward? We're stuck on pushing Slide eight. Please wait.
They're seeing the slides. We're not seeing the slides, apparently. All right. I can see it in the background here. I'll try to walk us through the slides to keep us moving, for the limited time that we have today. Here, we're taking a look at the market opportunity for B-TRAN, which we break into two areas, primarily. One is static or conducting applications that we can participate in with the current generation of B-TRAN we've developed. The second is switching applications, where they're typically switching at 10+ kHz, where we are developing either optimized drivers for B-TRAN that can work best in switching environments, or with the derivative device that we're developing for B-TRAN, that we can later deliver to the market as part of our product roadmap.
If you look at these markets, the opportunity across data center, industrial, and automotive for static applications, and again, those that are primarily conducting applications, is about $3.7 billion today, the scope growing to about $6.5 billion by 2030, is our forecast. Switching applications can add an additional market opportunity that's about the same size, between now and 2030, as we deliver solutions that are able to address those specific applications for TAM expansion. What I would also point out is, we look at the opportunity today, it's relatively equally split between automotive and industrial data center. We expect the data center industrial to grow faster, over the next four to five-year horizon as EVs, in the U.S. in particular, have slowed in adoption while they're still being adopted outside of the U.S., primarily in China and Europe. Next slide, please.
Looking at where B-TRAN goes in the different applications environments that we've targeted with the product. First in the data center, B-TRAN today, which are static conducting applications, we can use primarily in circuit protection, in multiple spots, basically from the wall of the data center down to the rack level. These typically require different current levels and different number of protection devices, depending on where it's placed in the data center. The second area of opportunity is in electric vehicles, EV, where B-TRAN is being evaluated for solid-state contactors and battery disconnect units with the products that we're now developing for release to market. The final area is in EV charging, also from a protection standpoint.
Future opportunities for the products here as we develop switching solutions would be TAM expansion across data center into areas like traction inverter in electric vehicles, and then around charging in the EV charging solutions. Next slide, please. Looking at solid-state protection in the transition to 800 volt DC power distribution systems in the data center. There's been a lot of discussion throughout the industry, led by NVIDIA, the Open Compute Project, and others, that as they continue to increase the compute capability and power required at the rack level, AC systems no longer can deliver the power that's required to operate those racks, and therefore, the transition that's upcoming to 800 volt DC distribution systems in the data center. This is also through alternative energy sources like battery systems that are scaling up to 800 volts and above.
When you go to 800 volt or high voltage DC power systems, solid-state circuit protection really becomes an essential part of the solution, when compared to what has been the standard in AC-operated data centers and environments, which have been more mechanical circuit breakers. First and foremost, fault energy builds very quickly at 800 volts. You need much faster interruption capabilities as faults arise to be able to protect the sensitive equipment throughout the data center. Whereas mechanical breakers operate in about millisecond time, the solid-state breakers can operate in microseconds. It needs to have controlled turn off, deterministic protection, some other capabilities. In general, solid-state circuit protection goes together with the transition to 800 volt or high voltage DC power systems.
Next slide, please.
During the recent quarterly results call in August, we talked about releasing an SSCB reference design kit rated 800 volts for customer evaluation. This is now stocked at our global distributor, Richardson Electronics, for customers to purchase. We have also delivered additional RDKs to customers for their evaluation in their labs to test our products and be able to help accelerate their own solid-state circuit breaker protection. The capability of this device is rated 800 volts, 63 amps.
It uses two B-TRANs with a power efficiency that is achieved of about 99.9%. Customers are using this to evaluate the performance of B-TRANs from a conduction standpoint, power losses, the ability to detect and interrupt faults as they occur, and test the energy efficiency of the device. It can also then be used by customers to accelerate their own product development, as it is a complete circuit breaker in this small format.
Next slide, please.
All right. Then offering an update on two of the strategic partnerships that we have with customers. One is around Stellantis. We continue to work with them on deliverables as part of their evaluation for solid-state contactor and BDU opportunity in future electric vehicles from the company. We are making good progress in those areas with them. The other is working with a lead customer in Asia for their evaluation of our SSCB solution for HVDC or 800 volt DC data center and industrial energy infrastructure applications. During the quarterly results call in August, I mentioned that we were close to delivering the first prototypes for customer evaluation. We have actually since delivered those prototypes to the lead customer. We have demonstrated the functionality of the prototypes, and they are now conducting their own internal evaluation and testing of the devices for next steps.
Next slide, please.
Looking at our sales funnel, I mentioned during the recent quarterly results call that the funnel has now increased to over $400 million. This is roughly split equally between industrial data center and automotive applications. We have a healthy mix of products across different applications areas, all generally aligned to solid-state circuit protection and battery disconnect unit applications. We have released the 800 volt RDK that I showed on the previous slide. That really does help customers not only evaluate our products, but to accelerate their own internal development. We have a number of other engagements broadly with customers, where we have moved things from the top of the funnel, where we have identified and qualified opportunities, into more the middle of the funnel, where there is more active evaluations taking place for our products.
Next slide, please.
From a manufacturing perspective, we've talked about having multiple fabs or foundries that we work with to fabricate our B-TRAN devices so that we have the source of supply that we need to be able to scale the business as we win business at customers and ramp production. We also use multiple outsourced assembly and test houses or assembly and packaging houses to build the final product for us where it's going to be used in a packaged form.
Then finally, we have a global logistics footprint established so that we can support customers in each of the regions where we do business with them. One new point that I mentioned recently was we entered into a long-term supply agreement with the high-volume wafer foundry in Asia. That really gives us a strong capability to scale our production as volumes increase over time and do so at the targeted gross margins we have for the business to drive profitability as we ramp revenue.
Next slide, please.
From a strategic priorities perspective, first and foremost, we want to continue to add new opportunities to the sales funnel. We've seen it grow from earlier this year, where it was around just over $200 million, or just under $200 million, excuse me, to over $400 million today. We want to continue to add new opportunities. The second area is going to be driving those opportunities in the funnel to design-ins and purchase orders so that we start the production ramp for our products with customers and get customers' products out into the field, to start the business growth. Then we have continuing to work with customers across the board, whether they're in data center, industrial, or automotive applications, specifically around the Stellantis opportunity to continue to progress this.
We've met the deliverables we needed to provide for the next milestone in the project we're working towards with them in Q4. We'll support that activity and then the subsequent deliverables as they're required. Then continue to explore strategic investment opportunities because that can be beneficial in a couple of regards. One, a validation of our product and solutions in the market. Two, have a potential customer at the end who has a vested interest in the company and its success and works together with us to commercialize B-TRAN technology. So it's something we'll continue to work towards with the discussions that I'm having with potential strategic investors today.
Next slide, please.
I think that's the end of the slide presentation, so I'll turn it over to Tim for the Q&A.
All right, the first question, how does Ideal Power's B-TRAN-based solid-state circuit breaker compare in performance and total system cost to competing devices for an 800 volt AI data center application?
Yeah. There are several advantages that our product was optimized to deliver for the applications we are targeting around conducting applications like solid-state circuit protection. One of those is lower conduction losses in these always on, typically conducting applications, while also being able to rapidly detect faults as they emerge and mitigate those faults. The second is our native bidirectional conducting and blocking capability. Essentially, what that means is we need one device to conduct and block in both directions, where competitors' solutions require at least two devices. The third is really fewer components that are required because of the native bidirectional capability of our device and the applications we address, which can lead to better power density or improved power density and a lower system cost.
All right, the next question. What are the important targets or catalysts that investors should watch out for in 2026 and 2027 as B-TRAN moves toward commercialization?
Yeah. There are probably three areas here that I would highlight. The first is something we are executing on today, which is the delivery of RDKs with B-TRAN for targeted applications that help customers complete their evaluation and accelerate their product development. As part of that then, also prototype deliveries to customers. I think on the last financial results call in August, I mentioned that we were close to shipping the first prototype SSCB units for evaluation to a lead customer in Asia. We have since completed that action.
We have demonstrated product capability in their specific application, and they are now actively testing our prototypes in their labs. The second area is around customer prototype builds and deliveries to end customers, where they take the next step after validating our B-TRAN capabilities to develop their own products that they then ship to end customers as prototype systems for field testing by the customers downstream. The final area is really looking for NRE agreements and purchase orders that we generate for sales with B-TRAN.
Okay, the next question. Can you provide an update on your project with an industry partner to deliver an intelligent SSCB prototype for planned evaluation by a U.S. hyperscaler in its Nvidia Rubin Ultra 800 volt DC data center development environment?
Sure. The hyperscaler is interested in evaluating the intelligent SSCB solution, as we call it, as part of its planned 800 volt DC infrastructure. As a first step, it wants to complete an engineering study and develop a simulation platform for its planned 800 volt DC power distribution architecture. This will include things like load, flow, short circuit, transient, and protection coordination analyses. We are developing a proposal with our industry partner to perform this study and create the associated HVDC models and simulation platform that they can use for the evaluation, which is expected to include NRE funding. The results will help establish the system architecture and protection requirements, and in turn, determine the timing and scope of subsequent hardware prototype evaluation.
Okay, the next question: What role do distributors ultimately play in the commercialization strategy?
Distributors can be an effective way to increase our virtual resources. Essentially, they have existing relationships with many customers that, with our small sales force, we cannot always be present at on a daily basis or a weekly basis to identify opportunities and work directly with customers on their product development. The distributors are an extension of our sales force to be able to identify those opportunities, promote our products with those customers, help them through their product development, and where it becomes an important opportunity or a priority for us, we can apply our internal resources alongside them.
In addition to the distributors, we are bringing on rep firms, which typically are more technically oriented. They are not stocking distributors, and they are exclusively focused on demand creation with a technically capable sales organization. Recently, for example, we just brought on a rep in the Southeast who has identified multiple customer opportunities across their installed base, where they represent other manufacturers' product lines, and we are working with them to vet those opportunities now. It is an important way to basically expand our feet on the street to promote and sell our products.
All right, the next question, and I will answer this. Are you only used on lithium solid-state batteries or also lithium phosphate and other chemistries non-solid state? Our technology is battery agnostic, so it can be used with a multitude of battery technologies. All right, the next question: How defensible is B-TRAN's intellectual property position as larger semiconductor companies enter bidirectional power applications? We have a very large patent portfolio, as David had mentioned. It is not just here in the U.S., but it is in several countries, places like China, Japan, South Korea, India, Europe, etc . It also covers not just the architecture itself, but also how you control a double-sided device and some application-specific patents. We have a very strong patent portfolio around B-TRAN and the B-TRAN technology. Next question: How much is your quarterly cash burn? Our quarterly cash burn is roughly $2.5 million.
I think our guidance for Q3 is a little bit higher than that, $2.7 million - $2.9 million. Our guidance for the full year is not more than roughly $10.5 million cash burn for the full year, which is up from about $9.6 million last year. Looking forward, we expect pretty modest increases in our operating expenses. We would not expect significant increases in R&D and G&A. The place where we may see the most growth is in the sales and marketing line, which is the smaller of the three at the present time. All right, the next question: Which end markets are moving fastest today, AI data centers, energy storage, other industrial applications, or EVs?
Yeah. Our earliest opportunities for revenue are going to come in the data center and potentially industrial sectors. There is a lot of momentum, particularly around data center, and with the halo effect, energy infrastructure supporting the migration from AC to High-Voltage DC data center power distribution environments. That is moving customers and prompting them to go much faster around product development, getting their products qualified, and getting them into customers' hands for field testing, and then into volume production. The most exciting and near-term opportunities for us are definitely data center and the accompanying energy infrastructure. Automotive and EV is still an important market because of the potential volume that it drives, and we will continue to work with customers there that we are engaged with today towards solid-state contactor and BDU solutions, but those typically take longer time.
All right. While we do have a few more questions, at this point, I think we're approaching time, so I'd like to turn it back over to the moderator.
Thank you. That does conclude Ideal Power's presentation. You may now disconnect. Please consult the conference agenda for the next presenting company.