Nextracker LLC has secured a major milestone in renewable energy with a newly patented technology for distributed storage and solar systems. This innovation focuses on a new patent, titled ‘DC/DC converter for distributed storage and solar systems’. The patent describes a multi-power distributed storage system designed to seamlessly integrate battery banks and power sources to optimize energy flow.

Award-Winning Outstanding Invention

This technology has been awarded Swanson Reed’s Patent of the Month for January 2026 in the Water Conservation and Renewable Power Generation industry. It earned this recognition because it represents an outstanding invention that significantly advances how we manage, store, and utilize solar power through highly efficient electrical engineering.

Patent Abstract

A multi-power distributed storage system including a first power source; a second power source electrically connected to a common bus with the first power source; a single input port inverter electrically connected to the common bus. The system including a controller configured to communicate with at least the second power source, and the single input port inverter. The second power source including a plurality of battery banks and a plurality of bi-directional DC/DC converters configured to charge and discharge the plurality of battery banks and provide DC to the single input port inverter.

Meeting the U.S. R&D Tax Credit Rules

To qualify for the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit in the United States, an invention must satisfy the IRS’s Four-Part Test. Nextracker LLC’s patent strongly aligns with these requirements:

• Permitted Purpose: The research aimed to create a new, improved system for distributed energy storage, specifically targeting enhanced functionality and reliability in managing multiple power sources and battery banks.
• Technological in Nature: The development process fundamentally relied on principles of electrical engineering, power electronics, and computer science (for the controller programming).
• Elimination of Technical Uncertainty: The engineering team had to overcome uncertainties regarding how to safely and efficiently integrate a single input port inverter with multiple bi-directional DC/DC converters on a common bus without causing power instability.
• Process of Experimentation: The team would have utilized iterative testing, computational modeling, and systematic trial-and-error to evaluate different inverter configurations and controller communication protocols to achieve the final patented design.

3 Practical Applications That Qualify for R&D Tax Credits

1. Developing Advanced Controller Algorithms: Writing, simulating, and testing new firmware logic that allows the central controller to effectively communicate with the single input port inverter and the secondary power source. The iterative testing required to minimize latency and perfectly balance the charge/discharge cycles under varying environmental conditions involves significant experimentation.
2. Prototyping the Common Bus Architecture: Designing and physically testing different hardware configurations for the common bus to handle the load of both a primary solar source and a secondary battery bank. Evaluating alternative bus materials and layouts to minimize thermal losses and electrical resistance directly meets the criteria for eliminating technical uncertainty.
3. Integrating Bi-Directional DC/DC Converters: Conducting stress tests and simulations on various bi-directional converter models to ensure they can flawlessly switch between charging the battery banks during peak solar hours and discharging them into the inverter during low-sunlight hours. The systematic evaluation of voltage limits and safety fail-safes is highly technological and requires extensive engineering trials.