Issa Batarseh
Biography
Over the course of 35 years, Issa Batarseh has significantly advanced the field of renewable energy through his research, development, and commercialization of highly integrated, energy-efficient systems. His work has resulted in the successful commercialization of safe technologies that may have reduced CO2 emissions by several million tons. Batarseh’s work on energy conversion technologies created the new market segments of solar AC microinverter modules and new product lines of high-power density, soft-switching DC-DC converters. In 2006, his contributions led to the development and commercialization of the first grid-tied interactive microinverter, known as an AC module, which operated at the PV panel level and could inject power back into the grid to improve power quality. This unique architecture increased the overall solar energy harnessed, resulting in a safe, more efficient, and compact inverter design. Based on his novel microinverter and advanced soft-switching technology patents, Batarseh has commercialized the first smart-grid interactive microinverter-based solar power system. He also led the development of the world’s first three-phase microinverter with high power density and high-efficiency through novel two-stage conversion with unique control methodology and soft switching technology. His work on microinverter solar energy conversion has significantly impacted the solar energy sector by improving the reliability and safety of distributed solar energy systems. Batarseh has also made original contributions to the development of a multi-port PV system with energy storage, resulting in a highly compact DC-coupled configuration with high efficiency. Batarseh’s unique blend of academic excellence, passion for clean technology commercialization, and real-world application is truly remarkable.
An IEEE Fellow, Batarseh is the Distinguished Pegasus Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Central Florida, Florida, USA and is the 2025 recipient of the IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies “For pioneering contributions to the advancement of renewable energy systems through significant improvement in the overall energy efficiency of microinverters.”
