AI Data Centres Pull Solid-State Transformers Into Commercial Power Plans
Ars Technica reported that AI data centre power demand is accelerating interest in solid-state transformers, which can convert grid AC power into DC power for accelerator racks while easing equipment footprint and supply-chain constraints.
AI data centres are pulling solid-state power transformers out of laboratory and grid-modernization work and into commercial infrastructure planning, Ars Technica reported, as developers look for smaller equipment that can feed direct-current server racks without extra conversion hardware.
The technology changes a bottleneck created by conventional transformers.
Large utility transformers are still custom-built around copper coils and steel cores, with delivery waits that can run up to several years while utilities, data centre developers and replacement programs compete for capacity.
Solid-state transformers use high-frequency semiconductor switching and materials such as silicon carbide to convert voltage in a smaller modular device.
For AI campuses adopting direct-current power architecture, the same unit can take alternating-current power from the distribution grid and deliver the DC power required by racks filled with accelerators.
North Carolina State University professor Srdjan Lukic described the data centre case as the current commercial opening for the technology.
Amperesand, Heron Power and DG Matrix have together raised more than $280 million over the past year to commercialize solid-state transformer systems.
The attraction is not only delivery speed.
A smaller transformer footprint can reduce copper and other material needs, while a modular design allows parts to be upgraded or replaced more easily than in a conventional substation transformer.
If production scales, the supplier base could widen from a small group of specialized transformer manufacturers to electronics-style manufacturing.
The same architecture is being tested beyond data centres.
Lukic and colleagues demonstrated a solid-state transformer on a live grid line handling up to 1 megawatt for electric-vehicle battery charging, combining voltage step-down with AC-to-DC conversion in one device.
That test is running at the Electric Power Research Institute's power delivery laboratory in Lenox, Massachusetts, with the New York Power Authority involved in a collaboration that began in 2018.
The demonstration equipment is roughly 1 meter by 1.5 meters by 2 meters.
It entered the Lenox test site in May 2026, with NC State due to receive it back in September after operation through summer conditions.
The device still has engineering and commercialization hurdles, including the compact isolation component that must withstand full grid distribution voltage.
Data Centre adoption would not solve the transformer shortage alone, but it could give solid-state systems a demanding first market before broader use in EV charging, grid upgrades and DC-equipped buildings.
