Former Tesla exec Drew Baglino’s new startup is rethinking the electrical transformer

Former Tesla executive Drew Baglino has a new startup developing solid-state transformers for the electric grid, Axios reported. The new company, Heron Power, is raising between $30 million to $50 million for a Series A, according to the report, with Capricorn Investment Group pegged to lead the round. Baglino was a longtime employee at Tesla, starting at the company in 2006, two years before Elon Musk took over as CEO. He rose through the ranks, designing the powertrain for the first Model S and leading engineering for Tesla’s battery storage products before being named senior vice president of powertrain and energy. Baglino left Tesla last April, the same time the company laid off 10% of its staff. In founding Heron Power, Baglino is tackling a part of the electrical grid that hasn’t seen much innovation in over a century. Transformers have been largely unchanged in that time, and having been commoditized, the majority of them are now made overseas. Solid-state transformers are ... Read full article.