Tesla’s long-time top engineer launches new energy startup: Heron Power

Drew Baglino, a long-time top executive at Tesla who exited last year, has launched a new energy startup: Heron Power.

Baglino was one of Tesla’s first employees. He worked closely with Tesla co-founder and long-time CTO JB Straubel before he left the executive team in 2019.

At that time, he became the defacto most senior engineering leader at the company and put in charge of batteries, motors, drive units, power electronics and our energy products – arguably the heart of Tesla’s business.

He worked 18 years at Tesla and was involved in many critical engineering projects at the company.

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We reported that Baglino left in April 2024 amid a massive wave of layoffs at Tesla. It’s not clear if he was let go or if he quit, but it was a big loss for Tesla either way.

After a year under the radar, Baglino is now surfacing again with a new company: Heron Power.

According to a new report from Axios, the former Tesla engineering executive is behind the new startup developing solid-state transformers for the electric grid. The company is trying to raise between $30 million and $50 million for a Series A led by Capricorn Investment Group.

Transformers have seen little change over the last 100 years, and solid-state transformers, if they can be produced at a reasonable cost, have the potential of accelerating the grid’s transition to renewable energy.

Solid-state transformers offer more advanced capabilities than traditional transformers. They can regulate voltage fluctuations caused by solar panels and wind turbines, switch rapidly between different power sources, and are much more compact. Additionally, they can be actively controlled, which helps improve grid stability.

Considering part of Baglino’s job at Tesla was designing and producing advanced power electronics in high volumes, it sounds like it would be right up his alley.