Critical Capital: The Clean Energy Transition has a Hardware Problem
About the episode
The electric grid is under pressure from every direction: surging demand from AI data centers, electrification, utility-scale renewables, and new industrial loads. But according to Drew Baglino, one of the biggest constraints isn’t generation, it’s the aging hardware that moves electricity across the system.
In this episode, Alfred Johnson sits down with Drew Baglino, founder and CEO of Heron Power and former Tesla executive, to discuss why power electronics have become critical bottlenecks in the clean energy transition. After nearly two decades at Tesla leading powertrain, charging, and energy systems, Drew is now focused on rethinking the electrical infrastructure underlying the modern grid.
Together, they dig into the explosive growth in electricity demand, the supply chain constraints facing medium-voltage transformers, and Heron Power’s effort to replace traditional transformer systems with software-enabled solid-state power electronics. Baglino explains how modular, semiconductor-based systems could make grids more reliable, easier to service, safer, and dramatically faster to deploy.
Critical Capital is a co-production of Crux and Latitude Studios. Learn more about how Crux is financing the future of energy.
Related Articles
Latitude Media: How Heron Power plans to scale first transformer factory to 40 GW
CEO Drew Baglino on the company’s plans to ramp production in the coming years — and combat the U.S. power equipment shortage.
Latitude Media: How Heron Power plans to scale first transformer factory to 40 GW
CEO Drew Baglino on the company’s plans to ramp production in the coming years — and combat the U.S. power equipment shortage.
Gradient Dissent: Making Transformers 100x Smaller
Can today's power grid handle the explosive growth of AI data centers? Tesla Alum Drew Baglino, now founder & CEO of Heron Power, doesn't think so. In this episode, he joins Lukas Biewald to talk about why scaling compute requires a fundamental overhaul of grid-to-chip infrastructure, not just bigger power plants. They cover how Heron Power raised $140M to cut power losses in half, shrink massive oil-filled transformers by 100x, and unlock 35MW of extra compute for every gigawatt data center, and what that means for the future of AI energy efficiency.
Gradient Dissent: Making Transformers 100x Smaller
Can today's power grid handle the explosive growth of AI data centers? Tesla Alum Drew Baglino, now founder & CEO of Heron Power, doesn't think so. In this episode, he joins Lukas Biewald to talk about why scaling compute requires a fundamental overhaul of grid-to-chip infrastructure, not just bigger power plants. They cover how Heron Power raised $140M to cut power losses in half, shrink massive oil-filled transformers by 100x, and unlock 35MW of extra compute for every gigawatt data center, and what that means for the future of AI energy efficiency.
Reuters: Heron Power plans $100 million factory for advanced electric grid equipment
Heron Power, a startup run by a former senior executive of EV maker Tesla, said on Thursday it plans to build a $100 million factory in California to make advanced transformers for the U.S. electric grid.
Reuters: Heron Power plans $100 million factory for advanced electric grid equipment
Heron Power, a startup run by a former senior executive of EV maker Tesla, said on Thursday it plans to build a $100 million factory in California to make advanced transformers for the U.S. electric grid.