KACO new energy to Provide Battery Converters and Energy Storage Systems Using Ideal Power's Power Conversion Systems

Ideal Power's Products to Be Marketed and Sold Under the KACO Brand in North and Central America

AUSTIN, TX and SAN ANTONIO, TX -- 07/28/15 -- Ideal Power Inc. (NASDAQ: IPWR), a developer of innovative power conversion technologies, and KACO new energy, a leading global provider of solar inverters and power conversion systems, are proud to announce that they have entered into an agreement that will allow KACO to resell Ideal Power's products under the KACO label. In addition, KACO will utilize Ideal Power's patented Power Packet Switching Architecture™ (PPSA) to develop its own differentiated products and integrated energy storage system solutions.


KACO new energy is the one of the world's largest manufacturers of solar inverters with more than 8 GW of installed systems. This agreement gives KACO access to Ideal Power's market-ready bi-directional power conversion systems for the battery energy storage and micro-grid markets. KACO intends to initially sell the systems in North and Central America, targeting both standalone energy storage, as well as solar plus storage system applications. The agreement also enables KACO to design and launch their own products using Ideal Power's technology.

"This alliance represents an important expansion of our business, starting with a global power conversion partner, to increase our market presence," commented Dan Brdar, CEO of Ideal Power. "The inevitable convergence of solar and storage is drawing leading companies in the solar market to develop storage based solutions. We believe that partnering with a solar market leader such as KACO gives us access to a large, established customer base and provides established solar providers a high performing energy storage solution. This agreement is an important milestone in the evolution of our company and we expect it will significantly expand our footprint."

"Ideal Power's technology is a truly outstanding solution for storage based applications. This partnership allows KACO and Ideal Power to take a strong leadership position and offer full solutions in a nascent market where others present mere prototypes," said Jurgen Krehnke, CEO for the Americas, KACO new energy. "Our customers have come to expect the most advanced power conversion systems on the market and the combination of Ideal Power's and KACO's capabilities delivers precisely that for the renewables plus storage space. We believe this to be a significant addition to the KACO product line that will further our competitive advantage in the market."

At one-quarter to one-eighth the size and weight of conventional solutions, Ideal Power's systems result in significantly lower installed costs. Ideal Power's patented PPSA technology provides electrical isolation while eliminating the need for a transformer, making them smaller, lighter and more cost effective than traditional systems. Its patented technology, which increases round-trip efficiency, resulting in lower operational expenditures, combined with the reduction in material, manufacturing, shipping and installation costs, greatly improves return on investment for Ideal Power's systems.

About Ideal Power Inc.
Ideal Power Inc. (NASDAQ: IPWR) has developed a novel, patented power conversion technology called Power Packet Switching Architecture (PPSA). PPSA improves the size, cost, efficiency, flexibility and reliability of electronic power converters. PPSA can scale across several large and growing markets, including solar photovoltaic generation, electrified vehicle charging, and commercial grid storage. Ideal Power also has a capital-efficient business model that can enable it to address these markets simultaneously. Ideal Power has won multiple grants for its PPSA technology, including a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program, and market-leading customers are incorporating PPSA as a key component of their systems. For more information, visit www.IdealPower.com.

About KACO new energy
KACO new energy is one of the world's leading manufacturers of solar inverters. Privately held, with 750 employees and offices in 16 countries, the company offers inverters for every array size from the smallest homes to the largest solar farms of hundreds of Megawatts. Headquartered out of Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart, Germany, KACO's manufacturing sites in Germany, the U.S. headquarter in San Antonio, Texas as well as a factory in Seoul, Korea have supplied more than 8 Gigawatts of inverters since 1999. The Company was the first to manufacture highly efficient, low-cost transformer-less inverter technology and continues to lead the market in technology and commercial competitiveness. In 2014, KACO new energy celebrated the Centenary of the original company which offered the first mechanical inverters in the late 1930s.

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