In the News

This is a big deal.

Amber Solutions is a small startup that has raised less than $10 million. Infineon is a top-10 global semiconductor manufacturer with almost 50,000 employees and over $10 billion in annual revenue.

It’s also a big signal to the market.

Extracting DC from AC without any magnetics at all? A new solid-state circuit breaker put forth by Amber Solutions in partnership with Infineon Technologies stands to cause some pretty intense waves by displacing the nearly century-old technology upon which our electrical infrastructure is built.

Infineon referred to the Amber technology as a breakthrough, one that could overhaul the massive global electricity infrastructure by enabling replacement of mechanical-based electronic components seen in traditional everyday light switches and other devices with digital, solid-state controls. Amber technology provides digital control of electricity with a fully silicon-based design for greater reliability and control. Bulky magnetic and mechanical components can be replaced with smaller solid-state devices to free up space and lower cost, the two companies said.

“The goal is to exploit solid-state technology and move beyond electromechanical systems–the bulky electrolytic capacitors, magnetics, transformers and other passive elements standard today,” Casey said. “Our alliance aims to offer a transformation of every electrical endpoint in all residential and commercial buildings to a modern silicon architecture with embedded intelligence.”

The combined intelligence to manage energy dynamically with the digital solid-state structure provides new opportunities to eliminate nuisance AFCI and GFCI trips, support flicker-less LED lights, and provide embedded surge protection in every electrical endpoint powered by Amber’s technologies.