Ampt and Innovenergy Expand Partnership in Europe

Ampt, the #1 DC optimizer company for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems, and Innovenergy AG, a DC-microgrid systems integrator, today announced their expanded partnership to integrate Ampt's String Optimizers into 80 new DConnect® solar-plus-storage projects for agricultural and commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in Switzerland and Germany. Ampt's patented optimizer technology enables Innovenergy to cost-effectively design and scale high performance DC-coupled systems to suit a wide variety of applications including DC-coupled battery storage based on cooking salt (NaNiCl2), EV DC-DC charging, DC-connected drives, hydrogen production, and more. Innovenergy's customers benefit from higher project returns and greater flexibility to upgrade systems as new market opportunities, technologies and use cases emerge.

Ampt's String Optimizers are DC/DC converters that serve as an integral component of Innovenergy's DConnect® systems, which consist of photovoltaic (PV) arrays, DC-coupled salt battery storage, inverters, an energy management system and Ampt's highly efficient DC/DC converters. Ampt optimizers perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT) on each string of PV modules to improve system performance and then deliver that power at a high and fixed voltage to simplify the connection of the PV with the DC link shared by the other system components. This supports the balancing of loads and energy delivery, while mitigating the sporadic drops in voltage that would occur without String Optimizers.

"This ongoing partnership with Innovenergy demonstrates the benefits of our industry-leading optimizer technology to enable high performing, lower cost solar projects suited to a wide range of use cases. DC-coupled systems are at the forefront of clean energy deployments, and we're committed to supporting Innovenergy in meeting growing demand for its DConnect systems across Europe to further the global transition to clean energy," said Levent Gun, CEO of Ampt.

Ampt's technology acts as the link to the DC bus, enabling the use of Innovenergy's energy management system to control only the DC link voltage, rather than individually managing each of the various system components, such as inverters, batteries, and EV chargers. This allows the system to be far more simple, predictable and responsive, and offers a cost effective solution for simplifying system design while enhancing flexibility so that energy supply and storage capacity can be expanded as needed.

"Ampt's power optimization technology is essential for our ability to provide our customers with tailored and flexible solutions," said Max Ursin, CEO of Innovenergy. "Connecting the PV array to different systems is difficult to do in a standardized way to accommodate the wide variety of applications we offer. Ampt String Optimizers solves this problem and manages the PV array so that it responds dynamically and maximizes energy delivery, improving system performance. With over 2 GW of optimizers shipped and deep experience powering mission-critical solar-plus-storage power plants, Ampt is the ideal partner to support our growing footprint in Europe."

Innovenergy plans to deploy hundreds of additional solar-plus-storage projects with Ampt technology across the European market over the next few years.

About Ampt
Ampt delivers innovative power conversion and communication technology that are used to lower the cost and improve performance of new PV systems, repower existing systems, and enable lower-cost DC-coupled storage. With installations and experience serving markets around the world, Ampt is the number one DC optimizer company for large-scale systems. The company is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, and has sales and support locations in North America, Europe, and Japan as well as representation in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.ampt.com and follow Ampt on LinkedIn.

About Innovenergy
Innovenergy, a Swiss based battery manufacturer, develops and distributes ecologically sustainable and innovative cooking salt-based battery storage systems and Direct Current Grid solutions. For more information, visit https://www.innov.energy/en/.