Ideal Power Inc. announced that its Board of Directors (“Board”) appointed two new independent members, Drue Freeman and Greg Knight, to the Board. As a result of these appointments, Ideal Power's Board will increase in size from three to five members, four of whom are independent. These directors will bring deep expertise in semiconductors and significant experience and relationships in the Company's initial target markets for B-TRAN™, including electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy, energy storage and power electronics.

Mr. Freeman has over 30 years of semiconductor industry experience, 16 of which focused on sales and marketing of semiconductors to the automotive industry. He spent most of his career at NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch multinational manufacturer serving the automotive industry. In 1990, he joined VLSI Technology, an American company that designed and manufactured custom and semi-custom integrated circuits, which was bought by Philips Semiconductors, a division of Philips Electronics.

Philips Semiconductors was subsequently spun-out from Philips to become NXP. Mr. Freeman served as Regional Market Segment Manager, Asia in Japan and spent four years as Vice President of Automotive Quality at NXP in Germany. He ended his tenure at NXP as Senior Vice President Global Automotive Sales & Marketing based in Germany, China and Silicon Valley.

In this role, he launched and served on the Board of Directors for Datang-NXP Semiconductors, the first Chinese automotive semiconductor company. He built significant automotive semiconductor market share by developing long-term relationships with OEMs and locking in design wins at all Tier-1 automotive customers. Mr. Knight has 20 years of experience in the photovoltaic (PV), silicon carbide, EV and power electronic markets in both leadership positions and as a strategic consultant.

He most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of GT Advanced Technologies, a producer of silicon carbide and sapphire crystal materials for expanding markets such as EVs and power electronics. His leadership positions include: Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Exawatt, which provides strategic consulting for the solar PV, EV, power electronics, high-purity quartz and lithium-ion battery markets; President of PV Tech Group, a provider of a range of operations and strategic planning services to the PV industry; and Chief Technology Officer for Equity Solar, a provider of silicon surface services intended to increase PV cell efficiency. Mr. Knight began his PV career as Manufacturing Director, Solar Cell Fabrication, at Schott Solar, a manufacturer of components for solar power systems. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Hardinge Inc., a multi-national machine tool builder.