Elon's Former Battery Chief on Making Transformers 100x Smaller | Drew Baglino, Heron Power

The electricity grid faces a critical transition as electrification—driven by electric vehicles, heat pumps, and AI-powered data centers—necessitates a tripling of total power generation. Current grid infrastructure relies on aging, passive mechanical components like oil-filled transformers and motorized switches that are uncompetitive and slow to deploy. Drew Baglino, former Tesla Powertrain and Energy executive and founder of Heron Power, argues that replacing these legacy systems with active, solid-state transformers utilizing wide-bandgap semiconductors, such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride, can reduce energy loss by half and shrink equipment size by a factor of 100. By shifting from 60-hertz mechanical switching to high-frequency power electronics, these innovations enable faster, more efficient grid management, potentially turning data centers into grid-stabilizing assets rather than liabilities while lowering overall electricity costs.