Summary
- SolidUltra has secured €3m in funding following its establishment in June 2026.
- Its modular transformer design aims to convert medium-voltage electricity directly to 800VDC.
- The company is targeting initial commercial deployments in 2028; its efficiency and installation claims remain unverified at operational scale.
French power electronics developer SolidUltra has secured €3m to develop modular solid-state transformers intended for the emerging 800VDC electrical architecture of high-density AI data centres.
The company was established in June 2026 with the backing of French power electronics business Watt & Well. The funding will support further product development, testing, and preparations for industrial production.
SolidUltra is designing equipment intended to convert medium-voltage electricity directly into an 800VDC output suitable for downstream data centre electrical infrastructure.
The proposed system combines functions traditionally delivered through separate transformers and rectification equipment. Its developer expects that reducing the number of conversion stages could improve energy efficiency and reduce the physical space occupied by electrical plant.
SolidUltra describes its design as modular, using power conversion cells that can be combined to serve installations of different sizes. The company is targeting initial commercial deployments in 2028.
Claims concerning conversion efficiency, equipment footprint, installation speed, and reduced losses remain development targets until supported by independently verified performance under representative operating conditions.
Direct conversion could alter power distribution
Conventional data centre power systems use combinations of transformers, switchgear, uninterruptible power supplies, rectifiers, and downstream distribution equipment to deliver electricity at voltages appropriate to computing systems.
Each conversion stage can introduce electrical losses and create heat that must be removed from the surrounding equipment. It also occupies space and requires monitoring, protection, and maintenance.
Solid-state transformer technology aims to perform voltage conversion through power electronic switching rather than relying entirely on conventional transformer and rectifier arrangements.
SolidUltra’s proposed architecture uses modular semiconductor-based conversion cells, with silicon carbide technology forming part of the design.
Reducing the number of conversion stages may create advantages where large electrical loads need to be delivered within a constrained building footprint. However, any claimed system improvement must account for the equipment still required upstream and downstream.
Electrical protection, isolation, controls, redundancy, and thermal management remain necessary even where conversion equipment is integrated into a more compact unit.
The technology must also demonstrate acceptable performance during abnormal operating conditions, including voltage disturbances, component failures, and maintenance events.
Those requirements are particularly important in data centres, where a failure in a central conversion system could affect substantial computing capacity unless the electrical architecture includes suitable resilience arrangements.
800VDC infrastructure remains in development
Higher-voltage direct-current distribution is attracting interest as AI rack power requirements increase. Raising the distribution voltage can reduce the current needed to transfer a given amount of power, subject to the design of the complete system.
Lower current can provide benefits for conductor sizing and some electrical losses, but the operating voltage introduces corresponding requirements for insulation, switching, fault protection, and maintenance procedures.
Adoption also depends on compatibility between the upstream electrical equipment and the power systems installed within computing racks.
Facilities designed around conventional alternating-current distribution cannot necessarily adopt 800VDC systems through a straightforward equipment replacement. Conversion arrangements, backup power, battery integration, and operational practices may all require changes.
SolidUltra’s proposed equipment addresses one part of that wider engineering transition. Its commercial viability will depend on performance, manufacturing cost, reliability, and the willingness of operators to adopt compatible electrical designs.
The €3m financing provides development capital but does not establish that the product is ready for commercial installation. The company has not identified a commissioned customer deployment or supplied independent test results demonstrating the complete architecture at operating data centre scale.
Prototype qualification, manufacturing readiness, and performance testing will determine whether SolidUltra can meet its 2028 commercial deployment target.
