# The grid's immune system is retiring: Synchronous condensers, AI data centers and the physics gap that software alone can't close

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/interchange-recharged-1117793/the-grid-s-immune-system-is-retiring-synchronous-condensers-ai-data-centers-and-the-physics-gap-that-software-alone-can-t-close
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/interchange-recharged-1117793/the-grid-s-immune-system-is-retiring-synchronous-condensers-ai-data-centers-and-the-physics-gap-that-software-alone-can-t-close.md
Podcast: [Interchange Recharged](https://stenobird.com/podcast/interchange-recharged-1117793)
Published: 2026-05-19T11:00:00+00:00
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Duration seconds: 3726

## Resource

As coal and gas plants retire, the energy transition conversation focuses on replacing their generation capacity. What gets far less attention is the loss of the physical properties those machines provided for free: inertia that stabilises frequency, fault current that supports voltage during disturbances, and reactive power that regulates voltage across the network. These services come from the physics of enormous spinning rotors synchronised to the grid, responding instantaneously, without sensors, software or control loops. As inverter-based resources replace them, that mechanical immune system disappears, and a new, extreme stress test is arriving at the same time in the form of AI data centres whose loads can swing by hundreds of megawatts in a fraction of a second. Host Bridget van Dorsten is joined by Kristina Carlquist, General Manager of Synchronous Condensers at ABB, and Christian Payerl, Sales Manager of Synchronous Condensers at ABB, to unpack why a technology that has existed for as long as the grid itself is now experiencing a revival. Christian explains the three ancillary services the grid is losing, inertia, short-circuit current and reactive power, and why inverter-based generation does not replace them. Grid-forming batteries can be programmed to simulate inertia, but each charge-discharge cycle degrades lifetime, overload capacity is limited to microseconds, and the models needed for accurate grid simulation are often tied up in manufacturer IP. Synchronous condensers respond on physics alone, in both directions, with no degradation and no modelling uncertainty. The recent blackout in Spain illustrates what happens when that gap is left unfilled. Kristina walks through the commercial traction. ABB's partnership with VoltaGrid on isolated data c…

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