Former Tesla executive Drew Bagrino has a new startup developing solid-state transformers for electric grids, Axios reported.
The new company Heron Power has raised between $30 million and $50 million for Series A, with Capricorn Investment Group pinned to lead the round, according to the report.
Bagrino was a longtime Tesla employee who began with the company in 2006, two years before Elon Musk took over as CEO. He rose the ranks and designed the leading engineering of the first Model S powertrain and Tesla battery storage products before being nominated as Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy.
Baglino left Tesla last April. At the same time, the company fired 10% of its staff.
In the founding of Heron Power, Baglino has been working on some of the electric grids that have not seen much innovation for over a century. At that point, transformers have remained largely unchanged and have become commoditized, so most of them are now made overseas.
Solid transformers are more capable than existing transformers and adjust dips at voltages that can arise from solar panels and wind turbines. It is also much more compact, allowing you to quickly migrate from one source from another, actively manage and increase grid stability.
Heron Power is not the only startup that hopes to shake up the transformer market. Singapore-based Ampesand is in the process of raising Series A after closing its $12.5 million seed round in early 2024. Like Heron, Ampera and Tesla alumni count in executives.
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