Sunpower, Inc.

Sunpower, Inc., a subsidiary of Ametek Inc. headquartered in Athens, Ohio, manufactures Stirling cryocoolers, free-piston Stirling engines, and active vibration control systems sold primarily to NASA, the Department of Defense, and federal research agencies as a prime contractor (96% of recent awards) under full-and-open competition with no set-aside designations. Sunpower operates as a for-profit manufacturer of goods and specializes in advanced cryogenic cooling technologies for aerospace, defense, and scientific research applications.

Sunpower's federal work centers on two concrete capability lines. Cryogenic cooling equipment comprises Stirling cryocoolers (CRYOTEL and GT variants), miniature and remote cryocoolers at operating temperatures from 77K to 50K, and spare-parts support for the Sunpower Robust Stirling Converter (SRSC). Stirling power conversion systems include the 12 kW Stirling Power Conversion Unit, for which Sunpower provides disassembly, inspection, restoration, and modification work; design, engineering analyses, and fabrication of prototype flight units; and on-call verification and validation testing. Representative prime awards include a $4.93 million cost-plus-fixed-fee definitive contract with NASA Glenn Research Center (August 2023) for SRSC support and prototypes through February 2027; a $649 thousand firm-fixed-price purchase order with NASA Glenn for SRSC spare parts (September 2024, due August 2025); and a $127 thousand definitive contract with NASA Glenn for disassembly, inspection, and modification of a 12 kW Stirling PCU (September 2024, due May 2026). Single-unit and small-lot cryocooler procurements from NASA, the Department of the Navy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology range from $17 thousand to $46 thousand and are awarded as firm-fixed-price purchase orders.

Customer concentration is extreme. NASA Glenn Research Center dominates the top-customers ranking with 20 awards carrying $109.4 million combined potential value — 96% of Sunpower's total combined potential value of $114.1 million. NASA Shared Services Center and NASA facilities account for an additional 16 awards valued at $599 thousand, compounding NASA's total to 56% of all 124 awards but accounting for 97% of all potential value. The Department of the Navy, the Army, and the Department of Commerce (NIST) represent the only other material customers, each with six or fewer awards carrying sub-$400 thousand aggregate potential value. This customer concentration creates acute recompete exposure: three awards with ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months carry only $5 million in combined potential value, but the bulk of Sunpower's revenue is embedded in large, longer-term NASA Glenn contracts with completion dates beyond 2026, particularly the $4.93 million SRSC maturation contract running through February 2027.

Sunpower holds seats on two Army IDICs (DAAK7084C0107 with nine task orders and DAAK7086C0001 with two) and two NASA indefinite-delivery vehicles (NNC05BA20B with six task orders valued at $2.7 million and NNC10BA21B with two task orders valued at $23.4 million). Sunpower operates as a sub on limited defense work, subcontracting to Raytheon Company on cryogenic cooler and sensor-integration services for flight instrument units (two sub-awards in 2025), to The Aerospace Corporation on engineering services for long-wave infrared cryocoolers (August 2023), and to Atlantic Diving Supply on amplifier design (June 2024). Awards per year have remained flat at two to five over the past five years (2022–2026), reflecting Sunpower's embedded position in long-term NASA and Army development programs rather than new customer wins. As a subsidiary of Ametek Inc., a diversified manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices, Sunpower inherits corporate-level diversification and financial stability, though Sunpower's federal footprint is narrowly concentrated in cryogenic systems for space and defense research.