IONATE

IONATE develops intelligent transformer hardware and AI software for electrical grids. Founded in 2019 by three entrepreneurs in London, the company is attacking a piece of infrastructure that has gone essentially unchanged for more than 130 years: the conventional transformer. Its technology brings real-time sensing, dynamic voltage control and coordinated power flow control to electricity networks.

The company's hardware product, the Hybrid Intelligent Transformer (HIT), is designed as a drop-in replacement for conventional transformers. It adds real-time sensing, dynamic voltage control, power factor correction and harmonics suppression to electrical networks, delivering precision power flow control without the trade-offs associated with solid-state transformers. The units operate at greater than 99% efficiency and are designed for applications up to 72 kV.

Aurora Neuralis is the AI-powered software platform that coordinates networks of HITs into distributed control layers across entire power systems. IONATE reports that this combination enables grids to accommodate 33% more distributed energy resources, carry 25% more power without infrastructure upgrades, and reduce wasted power by 6%. The technical work spans power electronics, transformer technology, voltage control and distributed energy resource integration.

IONATE was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a 2026 Technology Pioneer and has been featured in the International Energy Agency's flagship State of Energy Innovation Report. The company's stated focus is on modernising aging electrical infrastructure and decarbonising power systems.