Episode
#164: How the Grid Could Survive the AI Boom with Solid State Transformers With DG Matrix
- Podcast
- Earthlings 2.0 Podcast
- Published
- Jun 9, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1777
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Michael Wood III, Director of Commercial Development at DG Matrix, about one of the biggest challenges behind the AI boom: aging electrical infrastructure. As AI, data centers, manufacturing and electrification drive unprecedented demand for electricity, utilities and developers are increasingly constrained by a grid architecture built around technologies that have changed little in more than a century. Michael explains how DG Matrix is developing the world's first commercially available multi-port solid-state transformer, a power electronics platform designed to simplify energy systems, accelerate access to power, integrate multiple energy sources, and support the growing energy needs of AI data centers and electrified industries. The conversation explores grid modernization, data center energy demand, power system flexibility, and why the future of electricity infrastructure may require a fundamental rethinking of how energy moves through the grid. Key Points: AI data centers are creating unprecedented demand for electricity – The rapid growth of AI, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure is placing new pressure on an electrical grid originally designed for predictable demand patterns. Solid-state transformers could modernize power delivery – DG Matrix's multi-port solid-state transformer replaces complex power conversion chains with a flexible platform that integrates AC, DC, batteries, renewables, generators, and data center loads. Grid flexibility is becoming as important as grid capacity – As electrification accelerates across transportation, manufacturing, buildings, and computing, future energy systems will need to be smarter, faster, and more adaptable to changing power requirements. Michael Wood III, Dire…