Germany-based inverter company SMA Solar Technology AG says it is acquiring a 27% stake in Silicon Valley-based Tigo Energy Inc. in order to tap into the module-level power electronics (MLPE) market and expand its data-based business models.
In addition, under the $20 million capital increase transaction, SMA will receive a seat on the Tigo Energy board and have exclusive rights for worldwide sales of Tigo’s smart module technology TS4 Retrofit for 30 months. Both companies will cooperate in the areas of research, sales and service.
According to SMA, the TS4 product platform has various options that allow an increase in energy yield, the simplification of system planning and installation, fire safety, and cloud-based monitoring of system availability.
“Around the world, over a billion solar modules have been installed that cannot be individually monitored. With this stake in Tigo Energy, we can, for the first time, give all solar modules intelligence – in both existing and new plants,” says Pierre-Pascal Urbon, CEO of SMA.
