Enphase Energy is a solar technology company which works on a system based approach for leveraging expertise in semiconductor integration, power electronics and networking technologies to advance the performance, intelligence and reliability of solar energy systems.
The company was founded by Martin Fornage and Raghu Belur in 2006 as PVI Solutions .
The company filed for an IPO on June 15, 2011 with a proposed maximum aggregate offering of USD 100 million. The company’s revenue for the first quarter of 2011 was USD 18.07 million .
The company is based in Petaluma, California, USA. It also has European offices located in France and Italy. It caters mostly to the North American and European markets.
Exhibit: Revenue and Units (micro-inverters) produced of Enphase
Year Revenue (in USD million) Units shipped
2011 (1st quarter) 18.1 123,000
2010 61.7 414,000
2009 20.2 126,000
Business line, products and service offerings:
The company focuses on the development and production of micro-inverter and networking modules to help increase the efficiency of the solar energy produced from the installed solar modules, by effective data collection and communication using digital electronics.
The Enphase System :
Each Micro-inverters integrates with advanced networking technology and web-based software to enable new levels of intelligence and connectivity in the solar array. Specifically, the Enphase Micro-inverter System consists of the following components:
-
The Micro-inverter that connects to each solar module and converts DC power to grid-compliant AC power. There have been three generations of these micro-inverters namely: M215, M190 & M210, D380.
- The Envoy Communications Gateway that networks with each microinverter and transmits performance information to the internet
- The Enlighten software where Enphase customers can monitor and manage their solar power systems 24 hours a day
- Environ is another service offering from the company that is not included in the above three components. It is a smart thermostat device that integrates with the Enphase Enlighten™ website, allowing owners to simultaneously manage their heating and cooling system along with their solar system, through a single web-based platform.
Strategic Partners/Alliances
The company is a member of many solar and renewable technology associations such as:
- CALSEIA: California Solar Energy Industries Association
- SEIA: Solar Energy Industries Association
- ACORE: American Council on Renewable Energy
- ASES: American Solar Energy Association
- PSMA: Power Sources Manufacturers Association
The company also has around 2,500 installers working with them in North America, as of May 31, 2011 .
The company also has alliances with companies such as Flextronics: which assembles and tests its microinverters; Phoenix Contact: which makes the AC cable for its third-generation M215 microinverter system; Fujitsu: for its ASIC; Epcos: for magnetic cores; Cree: for diodes; and TDK-EPC for magnetic components.
Venture Capital/Investors/ Funding
The company is backed by institutional investors such as:
- Third Point Management
- RockPort Capital Partners
- Madrone Capital Partners
- Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
- PCG Asset Management
- Applied Ventures
- Bay Partners
The company closed a USD 63 million private round in June last year, bringing the total private money raised to USD 104 million by the end of 2010.
Top Management :
- CEO and President – Paul Nahi
- CTO – Martin Fornage
- CFO – Sanjeev Kumar
Recent News :
- June 7, 2011 : Enphase released the world’s most efficient micro-inverter, which the company claims has 13% more output than the previous generation inverters.
- April 14, 2011 : Enphase launched a 60-day road show in US and Canada to give the users a feel of the difference between their micro-inverters and other inverters.
- March 4, 2011 : Enphase after its growth in North America expanded to offices in France and Italy, in a bid to capture European Solar micro-inverter markets.
Address :
USA
Enphase Energy
201 1st Street
Petaluma, CA 94952
P: (877) 797-4743
Website: www.enphase.com
France
Enphase Energy SAS
Route de Thil
ZI Ouest
01700 Saint Maurice De Beynost
Italy
Enphase Energy srl
Via Volta, 98
20033 – Desio (MB)