Catalyst with Shayle Kann
Episode: The Rise of Grid Power Electronics with Drew Baglino
Date: February 19, 2026
Host: Shayle Kann
Guest: Drew Baglino, Founder & CEO of Heron Power
Overview
This episode dives deep into the evolution, current status, and disruptive potential of power electronics on the electricity grid. Shayle Kann hosts Drew Baglino, former Tesla exec and now founder of Heron Power, to discuss the history of power semiconductors, their transformative applications from electric vehicles to the grid, and especially the promise of solid state transformers (SSTs). They dissect how SSTs could revolutionize grid flexibility, reliability, and efficiency—addressing the very real and growing strains on today’s outdated grid infrastructure.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The History and Fundamentals of Power Electronics
- Drew provides a parallel history between digital transistors (famous through Moore’s Law) and power transistors (used directly for voltage and current management).
- Early applications: Industrial motor control via variable frequency drives (VFDs), enabling efficient matching of electrical and mechanical load needs ([08:15]).
- DC links connected isolated grid regions (e.g., interconnections between ERCOT and neighboring US grids), enabled by primitive, slow power electronics ([10:42]).
“All the devices, the motors, everything that's plugged into every wall is in some way affecting everything else … And the only thing that can change that is if you can control the flow of electricity. And that is what power electronics...allow you to start to do.”
— Drew Baglino, [06:05]
2. Silicon Carbide: From Niche to Mainstream
- Drew chronicles how silicon carbide (SiC), once a niche, made EVs dramatically more efficient by enabling smaller, denser, faster, and more efficient inverters ([13:59], [16:23]).
- He highlights the supply chain journey: from tiny, LED-focused in 2010 to robust devices powering worldwide EVs and grid hardware today.
“We started using silicon carbide to make drive inverters in cars. Because the incremental cost...was more than outweighed by the savings in battery, because the drive inverter could be so much more efficient.”
— Drew Baglino, [12:45]
3. The Grid’s Legacy Tech and Transformer Shortage
- Today’s grid still fundamentally relies on slow, mechanical switches and fixed, “dumb” oil-filled transformers (technology dating back decades, often literally the same physical units) ([16:48], [19:47]).
- Lead times for transformers are at all-time highs, driven by surging grid demand (from data centers, electrification, old unit replacements), supply chain uncertainty, regulatory questions, and risk-averse legacy manufacturers ([22:41]).
“Many of the transformers on the grid today were installed in the 1970s. Like they're very old on average.”
— Shayle Kann, [19:47]
4. The Promise (and Reality) of Solid State Transformers (SSTs)
- SSTs are not just more efficient transformers. They combine power electronics and software for modular, dynamic voltage/current control at much higher frequencies, are far more compact and add extensive features ([33:35]).
- In solar and battery applications, a Heron SST can replace traditional transformers, switchgear, and even some protection/capacitor banks—mounting 1-2% efficiency gains and big increases in reliability and modularity.
- Failures of central inverters and transformers are the leading causes of lost output in utility solar; Heron's modular SSTs greatly reduce downtime and maintenance needs ([37:38]).
“The reliability is a big one. Solar inverters are the largest source of underperformance on utility scale solar plants. ... And it's not just the inverters, it's actually the transformers.”
— Drew Baglino, [37:38]
Benefits for Solar, Battery, and Data Center Users
- Reliability (fewer large points of failure, modular design)
- Higher Power Density (SSTs are 50-100x more dense than traditional transformers)
- Operational Simplicity (delete step-down transformers, complex switchgear, and reduce O&M)
- Space Savings (especially crucial in data centers; 70% of electrical equipment and footprint can be deleted) ([43:47])
“You can remove 70% of the stuff in the electrical diagram and a similar amount of footprint…”
— Drew Baglino, [40:33]
5. Long-Term Vision: A 21st Century Grid
Replacing oil-filled transformers with SSTs at scale transforms grid management:
- Real-time, finely-grained control of voltage, current, and phase balancing.
- Dynamic power routing—getting more from existing wires, deferring much expensive new buildout ([44:32]).
- SSTs can substitute for numerous “popcorn” components (fault protection, tap changers, phase balancers, synchronous condensers, capacitor banks).
“Not only will SSTs ultimately cost less per unit of voltage conversion, but they'll also add all of this additional value added functionality that allows you to get more out of every wire, existing and new, that utilities build...”
— Drew Baglino, [44:32]
6. Metaphors for the Modern Grid
- Shayle and Drew compare the grid to river systems, “dams,” and “locks”—but SSTs make it possible to control “flows” in ways that are impossible with mechanical or passive legacy tech ([46:55], [47:36]).
- Water hammer in plumbing vs. oscillations in electric circuits: Both can be destructive or harnessed for efficiency ([49:51]).
“With power electronics, you can have whatever you want on the other side of that dam.”
— Drew Baglino, [47:36]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
Drew Baglino on SST Impact:
“That is the pathway towards affordability. That is what the 21st century grid will look like.” ([44:32]) -
On Historical Inertia of the Grid:
“That's how electricity is controlled at the grid scale. There's really not a lot of real time millisecond control. ... That is still the state of the art. What I described was true in 1970 and it's still kind of true today...” ([16:48]) -
On Space and Efficiency in Data Centers:
“The GPUs are where all the money is, but where a lot of the time is and the labor shortage is in the certified electricians that are doing a ton of electrical work, a ton of AC electrical work, and you're removing all this copper demand...” ([40:33])
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [03:59] — History of power electronics and their evolution
- [08:15] — Early industrial applications: variable frequency drives, DC links
- [13:59] — Silicon carbide's emergence and scaling in EVs and grid
- [16:48] — The grid today: mechanical switches, "dumb" transformers
- [19:47] — Transformer aging and supply chain squeeze explained
- [22:41] — Transformer shortage: demand, regulatory, supply chain issues
- [30:59] — Heron SST vs. traditional solar/battery grid architecture
- [37:38] — Reliability and efficiency—Heron’s core value props
- [40:33] — Data center application: deleting traditional equipment
- [44:32] — Endgame: The 21st-century SST-based grid
- [46:55–50:48] — Water analogies: rivers, dams, locks, and the significance of control
Conclusion
This episode goes beyond buzzwords, providing deep technical and commercial insight into why grid power electronics—especially solid state transformers—are poised to disrupt not just renewables but the guts of the electricity system. Drew Baglino offers a blend of history lesson, hard technical analysis, and forward-looking vision, making this a must-listen for anyone interested in how the next-generation grid will get built.
[To learn more about Heron Power and the topics discussed, visit the episode page at Latitude Media.]