Testing and validating a solid-state transformer at full power requires infrastructure that goes well beyond a standard lab. The voltage levels, the current magnitudes, the dynamic load profiles, and the medium-voltage grid interactions that define real-world performance all demand purpose-built capability. Building that capability was one of the first priorities Alderbuck set for its Dearborn, Michigan operations.
The facility is now open.
The Dearborn lab and manufacturing space covers 15,000 square feet, purpose-configured for full-scale system testing, assembly, and production of the Nexus Power Unit™. The space carries UL DAP certification, meeting NRTL product safety standards, which is a prerequisite for the kind of high-power testing the Nexus Power Unit™ requires before it reaches customer sites.
The electrical infrastructure behind the facility is what makes it capable of doing work that matters. A 1MW, 480V three-phase feed delivering over 2,000 amps serves four independent, configurable high-voltage test cells. Each cell can be set up for different test configurations, allowing concurrent testing of multiple system configurations or stages of the validation process. A 2MVA, 480V to 14,000V three-phase transformer brings medium-voltage capability into the lab, which is essential for testing SST performance under conditions that reflect actual grid interconnection scenarios.
The regenerative load bank infrastructure is particularly relevant for SST validation. Three 500kW regenerative dynamic loads and two 125kW regenerative dynamic loads allow the team to simulate the kinds of rapid, variable load profiles that data centers, EV charging hubs, and BESS installations produce in the field. Regenerative loads return energy to the bus rather than dissipating it as heat, which means the lab can run sustained high-power test cycles without the thermal management limitations that resistive load banks impose. Grid simulators, instrumentation, and supporting infrastructure round out the test environment.
The facility also carries additional power conditioning and conversion equipment including AC Variacs up to 315KVA at 480VAC, circuit breakers up to 1200 amps, a DC source covering 0 to 1000V and 0 to 200A, and a 600VDC 500A power rectifier.
The history of the Dearborn space is relevant context. The lab has been home to high-power electrification work for decades, with millions of dollars invested in the infrastructure over successive programs by organizations that understood what serious power electronics development requires. Alderbuck acquired a facility that was already built for this kind of work, and has configured it specifically for SST assembly, test, and production.
Systems design and engineering, applications engineering, customer configuration, and field service operations all run out of Dearborn alongside the lab and production functions. The facility is where the Nexus Power Unit™ gets built, tested, and shipped.
