IONATE, a deeptech company developing hardware and software for smarter electrical grids, is collaborating with General Motors to deploy its Hybrid Intelligent Transformer technology at GM’s manufacturing plant in Romulus, Michigan, marking IONATE’s entry into the U.S. market.
The deployment will bring IONATE’s Hybrid Intelligent Transformer, or HIT, into a large industrial manufacturing environment where the technology will provide real-time visibility and control over power quality and electricity consumption.
IONATE’s system is designed to identify and resolve power-flow problems before they disrupt industrial operations or create broader issues for the electrical grid. The first installation will take place at GM’s approximately 900,000-square-foot Romulus facility, which produces 10-speed transmissions for the automaker’s full-size trucks and SUVs.
GM recently invested $300 million to expand production capacity at the facility.
The IONATE deployment will provide GM with power-quality and consumption data at sub-millisecond resolution, giving the automaker more detailed information about the electrical conditions supporting its manufacturing operations.
IONATE said the technology can improve energy resilience, power quality and efficiency while also helping identify and prevent grid issues that could potentially contribute to outages.
The project places GM among the first industrial companies in the U.S. to deploy IONATE’s smart grid infrastructure.
IONATE sees the implementation as a potential model for other manufacturers, data centers and grid operators that need to accommodate higher electricity demand without waiting for large-scale upgrades to conventional utility infrastructure.
The partnership comes as industrial electrification, new generation capacity and rapidly expanding AI-related electricity demand place additional pressure on aging grid infrastructure.
IONATE argues that many of the electrical system’s core technologies have changed relatively little over the past century, even as the scale and complexity of electricity demand have increased significantly.
Its HIT platform is designed to modernize one of those fundamental grid components: the transformer.
Rather than functioning as a passive piece of electrical equipment, the HIT combines transformer functionality with real-time sensing and active control capabilities.
Installed between the broader grid and an industrial site’s electricity load, the system can monitor power conditions while detecting, analyzing and responding to disturbances in real time. IONATE said the HIT operates at greater than 99% efficiency.
The technology is also designed to integrate with existing substations and industrial facilities, reducing the need for extensive infrastructure replacement or prolonged downtime.
According to IONATE, average grid deployments using its technology can accommodate 33% more distributed energy resources, carry 25% more electricity without upgrading poles and wires, and reduce wasted power by approximately 6%.
Those capabilities could become increasingly relevant for industrial companies and data centers seeking additional power capacity in markets where transmission and distribution infrastructure is constrained.
Engineering teams from IONATE and GM have been working together on the deployment. U.S.-standard 3 MVA IEEE units are currently completing build and testing ahead of installation at the Romulus plant.
The companies will collaborate on the initial rollout and could potentially expand the technology to additional GM manufacturing facilities.
IONATE’s hardware is coordinated through its Aurora software platform.
Each HIT functions as a real-time control node, allowing individual transformer installations to work together as part of a larger network. As more devices are deployed, the platform can coordinate their behavior to improve capacity, power quality and resilience across the wider grid.
IONATE describes its technology as a hardware-software backbone for smart grids.
Its HIT platform combines high-fidelity electrical data with active control of voltage, harmonics and reactive power, while its AI-enabled software coordinates individual devices across grids, generation assets, industrial facilities and data centers.
The GM project gives IONATE a high-profile entry into the U.S. industrial market after deployments across European grids and could provide a reference implementation as manufacturers seek new ways to increase electrical capacity and reliability without completely rebuilding existing infrastructure.
KEY QUOTES:
“Deploying the Hybrid Intelligent Transformer with General Motors marks a significant step in reinforcing industrial power infrastructure with solid-state intelligence. GM’s manufacturing operations demand the highest standards of reliability, efficiency, and power quality – and that is what we build for.”
Matthew Williams, Founder and CEO of IONATE
“Maximizing efficiency and resiliency is crucial in GM’s manufacturing system, and it’s why we’re implementing innovative technology to enhance our energy management and the overall grid.”
Luis Cervantes, Executive Director of Manufacturing Excellence at General Motors
