AUSTIN, TX -- 01/21/16 -- Ideal Power Inc. (NASDAQ: IPWR), a developer of innovative power conversion technologies, announced today that it has partnered with Austin Energy in a federally-funded research program as part of the "Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar PV" (SHINES) program. The Austin Energy led projects are partially funded by a $4.3 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot program. For the projects, Ideal Power was selected to provide its power conversion systems to Austin Energy which will demonstrate a commercial PV integrated energy storage solution that offers a credible pathway to achieve the levelized cost of energy goals of the program. In addition, Austin Energy will work with Ideal Power and its other consortium partners to create a template for other regions to maximize PV penetration and provide grid stability by utilizing energy storage in areas where high levels of PV are integrated with the grid.

"We look forward to working with Ideal Power on this innovative project that will ultimately allow Austin Energy to support our aggressive renewable energy goals. Ideal Power's experience with power conversion technologies make it a strong partner in the Austin SHINES solution," said Karl Popham, Austin Energy Manager of Emerging Technologies and Electric Vehicles.

Austin Energy will incorporate Ideal Power's Grid Resilient 125kW and 30kW Power Conversion systems paired with lithium-ion batteries into commercial, behind-the-meter projects in 2016. Additionally, Ideal Power is contributing engineering, design and programming support, as well as training, commissioning and testing services for the Austin Energy projects.

"We're proud to partner with Austin Energy, our local utility, to support this initiative," said Dan Brdar, CEO of Ideal Power. "These projects will enable us to demonstrate the role of our grid-resilient power conversion systems in integrating energy storage with PV for grid stabilization."

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 commercial grid storage, combined solar and storage, microgrids, and electrified vehicle charging. 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.