Alderbuck Energy, a San Diego power infrastructure company founded in 2024 to develop solid-state systems for AI data centers, has appointed power industry veteran Sunil Chhaya, PhD, as Vice President of Market Development & Applications Engineering as it prepares to move its technology into field testing.
Chhaya joins Alderbuck after nearly two decades at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), where he worked on grid modernization, distributed energy resource integration, managed charging, vehicle-to-grid systems and cybersecurity.
The appointment comes as Alderbuck moves from developing its technology toward commercial and field applications, while AI data centers create increasingly demanding requirements for power infrastructure.
New Leadership for AI Power Infrastructure
At Alderbuck, Chhaya will oversee market development and applications engineering for the company’s integrated power platform. It includes the Nexus Power Unit, a medium-voltage solid-state transformer, and PowerVector AI, a software layer designed for predictive diagnostics, distributed energy resource management and grid-aware orchestration.
The company is targeting a power challenge emerging alongside the rapid expansion of AI computing. Higher-density workloads can produce large and dynamic electricity loads, increasing the need for power systems that can manage conversion efficiency, grid interaction and changing site requirements.
Chhaya said his decision to join Alderbuck was influenced by its combination of advanced power hardware and software intelligence. His work in the field dates back to his doctoral research, when he studied areas connecting computing and power electronics.
Alderbuck Prepares for First Field Pilot
The company’s next step is a planned pilot of the Nexus Power Unit at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California, San Diego.
The project is being funded through a California Energy Commission initiative involving San Diego Gas & Electric, EmeraldAI and the Good For Others Foundation. The pilot is intended to demonstrate the use of medium-voltage solid-state power conversion for high-density AI loads.
Alderbuck expects the project to assess potential reductions in equipment footprint, installation time and energy losses.
The field deployment is a significant step for a company that was established just two years ago. Rather than remaining at the technology-development stage, Alderbuck is now preparing to test its platform in an operating environment where power density and reliability are critical.
Building Beyond Data Center Power
Alderbuck is also developing its platform around the wider changes affecting electricity infrastructure, including transportation electrification and the growth of distributed energy resources.
The company says its approach combines power electronics, grid interoperability and software-based control within a single platform.
Headquartered in San Diego, Alderbuck has engineering and manufacturing operations in Dearborn, Michigan. It develops solid-state, isolated and bidirectional power control systems intended to simplify connections between AI data centers and electrical infrastructure while improving energy efficiency and reducing costs.
