Eaton Expands Its Montreal Innovation Center Focused on R&D for the Energy Transition

September 2, 2024

Eaton recently announced the expansion of its newest global Innovation Center near Montreal in Brossard, Quebec less than a year after its opening.

After developing cutting-edge software in the region for nearly 40 years, last year the company announced its Innovation Center focused on the research and development of distributed energy resources (DER) technologies. Now, 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 hands-on 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-in-hand 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.”

With the availability of renewable energy soaring globally, new power management technologies are vital to optimize DERs and interconnection with the electric grid. 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.

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