The AI boom's soaring electricity demand is accelerating development of solid-state power transformers, a modern alternative to the hand-built, 1880s-era technology that underpins most of the US power grid. Conventional transformers must be custom-built for each electrical substation and can take years to deliver, creating bottlenecks that slow both grid expansion and the replacement of ageing equipment; solid-state versions, by contrast, can be mass-manufactured using semiconductor materials, making them smaller, lighter, modular and quicker to produce.

Data centres are proving the "killer application" for the technology because many are shifting to direct current power architectures for AI server racks, and solid-state transformers can convert grid AC power straight to DC without extra equipment, according to North Carolina State University professor Srdjan Lukic. US firms including Amperesand, Heron Power and DG Matrix have raised over $280 million in the past year to commercialise the technology, which could also cut copper use, free up space at data centre sites, and eventually ease broader transformer supply shortages by opening manufacturing to a wider range of electronics companies. The technology could also benefit EV charging and, potentially, households in future.