INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
Eaton expands its Montreal Innovation Center focused on R & D for energy transition
Eaton adds jobs and footprint to its first Innovation Center in Canada – providing a hub for industry education .
Intelligent power management company Eaton has expanded its newest global Innovation Center near Montreal in Brossard , Quebec , less than a year after its opening .
Eaton is adding 9,000 square feet and 50 more highly specialized jobs to the facility , bringing a total of approximately 200 jobs to Brossard .
As part of the expansion , Eaton is building a new Experience Center to provide handson training for the digital technologies accelerating the energy transition – accelerating innovation and adoption of new solutions .
“ Innovation and industry education are essential to propel the world ’ s transition to smarter , more sustainable energy systems . Here in Montreal , we ’ re bringing together the electrical industry ’ s brightest minds to develop and test new technologies , working hand-inhand with customers , regional universities and technical schools to make it happen ,” said Luiz Fernando Huet de Bacellar , PhD , Eaton ’ s Vice President , Engineering and Technology .
“ We ’ re excited to bring more opportunities to the region , expand our Innovation Center and continue to innovate the technologies propelling the energy transition and a more sustainable future .”
Since 2020 , Eaton has invested $ 1.3 billion in research and development for sustainable solutions and is targeting a total of $ 3 billion to the mission by 2030 .
At its Montreal Innovation Center , Eaton is collaborating closely with long-time customers such as Hydro-Québec to develop and commercialize novel solutions like its next generation microgrid system that will help simplify , accelerate and optimize the integration of renewables and energy storage for utilities , buildings and industry .
“ The expansion of the Eaton Innovation Center , in particular the new customer Experience Center , will help enhance the collaboration environment between Eaton and Hydro-Québec and allow us to better integrate innovative technologies into our distribution system ,” said Hervé Delmas , automation engineer at Hydro-Québec .
Eaton opened its Montreal Innovation Center in November 2023 . With a focus on developing advanced solutions to optimize DERs , the company is bringing together multiple disciplines , including cybersecurity , software , human-centered design and automation experts to maximize the impact of sustainable technology across industries .
Eaton believes the electrification of more areas of the economy , including transport , building systems and industry will drive a substantial increase in power demand by 2050 .
The company concedes it is technically feasible to meet this extra demand with electricity generated from low or zero carbon sources – but this will require concerted government support through policy and regulation , as well as research and development to reduce the cost of new green energy sources such as clean hydrogen .
By facilitating the trading of self-generated clean electricity to reduce energy costs , Eaton says it is enabling energy users , both consumers and businesses , to participate in demand response programs where the utility can turn demand and / or on-site generation up or down in response to signals for realtime grid balancing needs . p
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