Ex-Tesla Exec Drew Baglino Launches Startup Redesigning Electrical Transformers

According to Axios, former Tesla executive Drew Baglino is the founder of a new company that is creating solid-state transformers for the electrical grid. According to the post on X, Heron Power, the new company, is gathering between $30 million and $50 million for a Series A investment, with Capricorn Investment Group expected to head the deal. Baglino had been with Tesla for a long time; he began working there in 2006, roughly two years before Elon Musk became CEO.

Before being appointed senior vice president of powertrain and energy, he advanced through the ranks, overseeing engineering for Tesla's battery storage products and designing the powertrain for the original Model S. Baglino left Tesla in April of last year, when the business announced the departure of 10% of its employees. Baglino is addressing an area of electricity supply that has not undergone much innovation in more than a century by establishing Heron Power. Since then, transformers have remained essentially the same, and most of them are now manufactured abroad after becoming commoditized.

Compared to current transformers, solid-state ones are more capable of controlling voltage dips caused by wind turbines and solar panels. Additionally, they are far more compact, have the ability to switch between power sources rapidly, and may be monitored closely to increase grid stability.