Nasser Kutkut, Ph.D., D.B.A.

Founder and CEO
Smart Charging Technologies, LLC
Graduate Faculty Scholar
University of Central Florida

20 U.S. Patents

Nasser Kutkut, Ph.D., D.B.A., is the founder and CEO of Smart Charging Technologies LLC, a high-tech firm based in Orlando, Florida, specializing in innovative Internet of Things (IoT) energy management solutions. He also serves as a Graduate Faculty Scholar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Central Florida and mentors emerging entrepreneurs through UCF’s Business Incubation Program.

A trailblazing innovator in energy conversion systems, battery management, and industrial IoT technologies, Dr. Kutkut has led a prolific career spanning nearly three decades. He introduced high-frequency, high-efficiency, fast, and opportunity chargers that eliminated the need for costly and time-consuming battery change-outs. These systems are deployed across thousands of facilities by Fortune 500 companies such as General Motors, Toyota, Kraft Foods, and Estée Lauder and have saved more than $140 million in operational costs while significantly enhancing workplace efficiency.

Dr. Kutkut also pioneered the industry’s first line of industrial IoT-enabled battery chargers and monitoring systems, delivering substantial energy savings and reductions in carbon emissions for clients including Amazon Air, Coca-Cola, and Walmart. He further led the development of the first cloud-based application for remote monitoring and control of industrial battery charging assets, ushering in a new era of smart, connected energy infrastructure.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Kutkut co-invented soft-switching DC-to-DC converters and high-efficiency transformer designs—technologies that have become foundational in modern power electronics. To date, more than 72,000 industrial charging systems based on his patented innovations have been deployed worldwide, saving over 7,400 megawatt-hours of energy and eliminating more than 11 million pounds of CO₂ emissions. His contributions have helped organizations improve efficiency, reduce costs, and operate more sustainably.

A serial entrepreneur, Dr. Kutkut has founded multiple high-impact ventures, including Power Designers LLC, Verdant Energy Service LLC, and Smart Charging Technologies LLC. All of his companies, including Smart Charging Technologies, are industry leaders for pioneering advances in electric vehicle charging and intelligent battery management systems.

Dr. Kutkut holds 20 U.S. patents spanning breakthrough innovations in power electronics, modular charging architectures, adaptive solar tracking, and cloud-based fleet and battery monitoring systems. In 2001, he placed among the top three in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Future Energy Challenge.

Dr. Kutkut earned a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Jordan University of Science and Technology, and an M.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and an M.B.A. in management and entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He later earned a Doctorate in Business Administration in entrepreneurship and marketing from Grenoble École de Management in Grenoble, France.

A MENTION ABOUT INVENTION – 3 Questions for the Inventor

Q1. Of your patents/inventions, which one is your favorite and why?

I think U.S. Patent 7,135,836: “Modular and Reconfigurable Rapid Battery Charger” is my favorite, as it was pivotal in launching our innovations into the marketplace. This patent became the foundation of our fast-charging technology for motive power batteries, establishing our company as a technology innovator in the motive power market space.

Q2. What inspired you to become an inventor/innovator?

I would say it’s the desire to solve end-users’ problems and develop new products and solutions to address them. Being an inventor or innovator was never a goal in itself, but rather the result of creating new products and solutions through that process.

Q3. What is your process when developing new inventions/innovations?
In many cases, it begins with encountering new customer problems or pain points. In other cases, it may involve exploring new market opportunities and identifying potential product or design concepts. Either way, I typically start by researching existing solutions and identifying gaps or opportunities for improvement.

Most often, these efforts lead to innovations that are both unique and impactful. For example, our switch-on product innovations were driven by the need to reboot remote equipment when local Ethernet connections were lost or devices became unresponsive. We developed a unique solution that uses redundant cellular networks and a backup battery to ensure reliable equipment reboot capability under all conditions—eliminating costly service calls and truck rolls.