SolarEdge Gears up e-Mobility Product Line

3 November, 2020

Once a solar-centric solutions provider, SolarEdge expands its other business lines, including the production of full powertrain solutions for Electric Vehicles

Roni Lifshitz

SolarEdge Technologies reported revenues of $338.1 million in the third quarter 2020, up 2% from $331.9 million in the prior quarter and down 18% from $410.6 million in the same quarter last year. Revenues in the US solar market, once the biggest market of the company, were $105.9 million and represented 33.9% of its total revenues. Solar revenues from Europe reached record high of $165.6 million (53% of the revenues).

SolarEdge provides smart energy solutions including intelligent inverter solutions for photovoltaic (PV) systems, EV charging, batteries, UPS, electric vehicle powertrains and grid services solutions. This quarter, its new factory in Israel, Sella 1, started production of optimizers and inverters. This is not a regular production plnat. According to Zvi Lando, Chief Executive Officer of SolarEdge, “Our intent is to define equipment and processes with new developed products in Sella 1 and copy to the various contract manufacturers around the world.”

Lately SolarEdge produced in Sella 1 the first prototype units of a new 330 kilowatt inverter planned for introduction in late 2021. It will bring the company access to the mid-sized ground mount and small utility segments of the market. “With Sella 1, coupled with the continued ramp of contract manufacturing sites in Vietnam and Hungary, we expect that 60% of U.S. product in Q4 will come from non-tariff regions.”

But the future of SolarEdge may be elsewhere, not in the solar business: Its non-solar revenues this quarter were $26 million, up from $22 million in the prior quarter. Today it gears up to manufacture and deliver the first significant batch of full powertrain solutions to a known automotive OEM. “In the fourth quarter, we expect to deliver 100 to 200 powertrain kits as mass production is scheduled to begin.”

A typical powertrain kit includes batteries, inverters, motor and vehicle control units. “While not significant yet in revenues and margin, this is the first meaningful step for us into the e-Mobility market and towards materializing the bigger SolarEdge vision to become a global leader in smart, sustainable energy solutions.”

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