Tech Crunch: Why investors are going gaga for solid-state transformers
It’s no secret that the electrical grid is aging, but one part stands out from the rest. Transformers haven’t changed much since Thomas Edison made his first light bulb.
Now, a string of startups are working to modernize the transformer, replacing it with modern power electronics that promise to give grid operators more control over how and where electricity flows.
“It becomes a very powerful device, equivalent to your internet router,” Subhashish Bhattacharya, co-founder and CTO of DG Matrix, told TechCrunch.
Three startups recently raised sizable rounds to scale up production of their solid-state transformer technologies. This week, DG Matrix raised a $60 million Series A and Heron Power raised $140 million in a Series B round. In November, Amperesand raised $80 million to chase after the burgeoning data center market.
Existing transformers are reliable and efficient, but that’s about it. They’re relatively crude instruments, made largely of copper and iron. They react passively to changes on the grid and are capable of tackling only one task per device.
“An old-school steel, copper, and oil transformer doesn’t have any monitoring, doesn’t have any control,” Drew Baglino, founder and CEO of Heron Power, told TechCrunch. In instances where electricity surges or a power plant trips offline, that can be a liability.
The devices can incorporate power from a range of difference sources — including traditional power plants, renewables, and batteries — and transform that electricity into either alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) at a number of different voltages, allowing them to replace several devices.
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It was during his 18 years at Tesla that Drew Baglino realised how inadequate the US energy grid had become. The technology connecting to the network was advancing rapidly, but the infrastructure underpinning it had changed little for decades.The economy of the 21st century is still drawing on a power system built in the 19th century, he says. “It just isn’t able to keep up.”
Financial Times: The century-old device choking the world’s AI push
It was during his 18 years at Tesla that Drew Baglino realised how inadequate the US energy grid had become. The technology connecting to the network was advancing rapidly, but the infrastructure underpinning it had changed little for decades.The economy of the 21st century is still drawing on a power system built in the 19th century, he says. “It just isn’t able to keep up.”
Axios: Drew Baglino on Heron's big prototype summer
Next-gen transformer startup Heron Power is building its first 10 engineering prototypes this summer and will deploy some of those with early customers, Heron Power founder and CEO Drew Baglino tells Axios Pro.
Axios: Drew Baglino on Heron's big prototype summer
Next-gen transformer startup Heron Power is building its first 10 engineering prototypes this summer and will deploy some of those with early customers, Heron Power founder and CEO Drew Baglino tells Axios Pro.
Press Release: Heron Power Collaborates with LG Energy Solution Vertech, Uniting American-Made Battery Energy Storage Systems and Solid State Transformers to Power the Modern Grid
Heron Power, a U.S.-based manufacturer of next-generation medium-voltage power electronics, today announced a design and engineering collaboration with LG Energy Solution Vertech to integrate Heron’s solid-state transformer–based Heron Link with LG Energy Solution Vertech’s U.S.-manufactured battery energy storage systems.
Press Release: Heron Power Collaborates with LG Energy Solution Vertech, Uniting American-Made Battery Energy Storage Systems and Solid State Transformers to Power the Modern Grid
Heron Power, a U.S.-based manufacturer of next-generation medium-voltage power electronics, today announced a design and engineering collaboration with LG Energy Solution Vertech to integrate Heron’s solid-state transformer–based Heron Link with LG Energy Solution Vertech’s U.S.-manufactured battery energy storage systems.