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IONATE Welcomes Dr. Tianning Xu as Chief Technology Officer

Esra Cuhadaroglu

January 30, 2026

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5 min read

IONATE Welcomes Dr. Tianning Xu as Chief Technology Officer

Innovation at the grid level requires a specific kind of vision: one that respects the absolute physics of power systems while embracing the agility of modern tech.

That’s why IONATE is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Tianning Xu as our new Chief Technology Officer. Tianning brings a unique blend of deep-domain expertise and high-velocity scaling. With a PhD in Power Electronics, Controls, and Drives from the University of Nottingham, he spent over a decade at GE Grid Solutions. There, he was spearheading HVDC technology, leading the teams that developed Gen 1 and Gen 2 converters – deeply complex systems now operating on massive 1.4 GW and 2 GW projects worldwide. But Tianning’s impact goes beyond hardware. At ChargePoint, he grew the European engineering team from its early stages to over 50 specialists. Most recently, at Turntide Technologies, he led a powerhouse of 80+ engineers developing advanced powertrain products, batteries, and motor controllers for the automotive and industrial sectors.

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Of joining IONATE, Tianning said:

“ IONATE is tackling some of the most important challenges in energy today, with a focus on building smarter, more resilient Transformers through innovative power electronics, software, and AI. I’m very excited to bejoining the team and truly looking forward to working with everyone as we continue to develop our technology on the very strong foundation the team has paved.”

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Closing the Gap Between Infrastructure and Intelligence

IONATE’s Hybrid Intelligent Transformer (HIT) and Aurora software will redefine how power is delivered, controlled, and understood. Together they close the gap between static infrastructure and intelligent systems, unlocking a measurable step change inefficiency, reliability, and sustainability.

Tianning’s background sits at the exact intersection where IONATE operates: the marriage of robust grid hardware and embedded intelligence. As part of our team, he will lead the multidisciplinary engineering streams working on our hardware innovation, the HIT, while closely collaborating with our software team in Vienna.

We’re thrilled to have his as we accelerate our mission of Transforming Power.

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