The funding will accelerate development of I-Pulse’s proprietary high‑temperature, high‑current silicon‑carbide switches, support partnerships with national laboratories, universities and specialized manufacturers near Sandia and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, and strengthen U.S. domestic chip manufacturing and supply‑chain resilience while advancing applications from geothermal to mining and defense.
"This award supports the development of world‑leading critical components in the pulsed power technology stack, with profound implications for energy security and national defense," I-Pulse co‑founder and CEO Robert Friedland said in an announcement.
The grant is one of the largest federal investments in a company developing semiconductor technologies, and comes alongside strategic private backing from miners including BHP, Rio Tinto, Newmont and Teck and an about $50 million investment from Chile’s state miner Codelco, with Bloomberg reporting the award aligns with Friedland’s broader engagement on U.S. critical‑minerals and supply‑chain initiatives.
I-Pulse says the next milestone is scaling its switch development toward commercial geothermal deployments that could provide continuous power for energy‑intensive infrastructure such as artificial intelligence.
