TAIPEI, Taiwan – January 30, 2013 – i-Energy, a Taiwan-based advanced developer and supplier of advanced photovoltaic power conversion and optimization products, today announced a strategic partnership with ITRI International Inc., a subsidiary of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a leading R&D organization based in Taiwan. This partnership will include support for i-Energy’s product market research, development and strategy, establishing a US office for local sales, marketing and customer service support at ITRI International’s facility starting from March 2013, and joint development of next generation SMART solar technology products.
i-Energy has successfully launched two products, the GT260 microinverter, and the i- Manager web-based monitoring system in September, 2012, and has shipped over 10,000 units to Europe, Asia and Latin America. i-Energy will formally enter the US market from the 2nd quarter of 2013 and has already engaged several key distribution partners in the USA. Currently the 3rd largest supplier worldwide of microinverters, i-Energy plans to become the 2nd largest worldwide micro inverter by the end of 2013.
The i-Micro Inverter GT260 offers advantages over traditional string converters that include optimization of harvested energy, simplified design and installation, increased system availability and reliability. Compared with competing microconverters, the GT260 offers higher real power output (230W), greater system compatibility (60 and 72 cell modules), simpler plug and play installation, and simpler product architecture design. This provides the installer and user with enhanced system performance, higher reliability, and lower costs of installation, service and cost of energy delivery. The i-Manager system enables real time remote monitoring of module performance through an Internet gateway.
“We are most fortunate to have ITRI International as a strategic partner,” said Dr. Steven Huang, CEO of i-Energy. “Their network, experience, knowledge, and resources will be of great help in supporting our expansion into the US market, and will facilitate our ability to take advantage of the present and future market opportunities.”
