Solar PV equipment provider Nextpower has been issued a new US patent for its electrical balance of system (eBOS) offering.
The US Patent and Trademark Office issued patent number 12,712,292 last week, which covers Nextpower’s NX PowerMerge trunk connector product.
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“What we consistently hear from customers is that NX PowerMerge sets a new bar for robust field-installed design,” said Ryan Schofield, vice president, electrical – eBOS at Nextpower. “They point to the single trunk cable connection point and an installation tool that verifies pressure every time, so there is no more guesswork in the field.”
He continued: “The connector body is universal across trunk cable sizes, giving EPC teams the flexibility to handle design changes as projects evolve. This patent recognises these innovations”.
As well as the new patent, Nextpower signed a supply deal with US engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor BUILD Renewables for the PowerMerge connector. This deal brings its backlog for the product to over 2GW, Nextpower said.
Craig Sandeen, president and chief executive officer of BUILD Renewables, said the product “provides exemplary safety, installation velocity, and performance features. We also appreciate the integrated design with the tracker and other solar power plant components.”
Nextpower said its eBOS patent portfolio now includes both trunk bus and combiner box DC collection methods. These form part of its growing offering of solar BOS equipment, which the company has expanded considerably over recent years.
Nextpower rebranded from its previous name, Nextracker, in 2025 to reflect its shift away from its core solar tracker business. The company has acquired steel production services, a battery energy storage system (BESS) platform, a power inverter company, artificial intelligence programmes and various other BOS and eBOS businesses.
Other solar tracker firms have followed a similar path, though Nextpower remains the most notable example. GameChange Energy, FTC Solar and Array Technologies have all expanded their technology offerings over the past year with investments in steel production, foundations systems and eBOS products. PV Tech Premium spoke with the head of GameChange Energy, Phil Vyhanek, earlier this year about the company’s acquisition of eBOS firm Terrasmart.
