Eaton leads BEAVER R&D project to modernize low-voltage grids as utilities embrace energy transition

Intelligent power management company Eaton announced its leadership of project BEAVER, an ambitious R&D initiative to equip low-voltage (LV) grids with smart management capabilities to meet the demands of rising renewable generation and battery storage.

Without proper management, local renewable generation can cause voltage fluctuations, three-phase imbalances, and thermal overloading in LV grids. Implementing traditional management and monitoring solutions using advanced sensors can be costly. Spanning four years to 2028 and co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Project BEAVER will design and validate intelligent substation technologies embedded in a flexible, modular architecture to help utilities cost-effectively improve real-time awareness and control.
Led by Eaton, the BEAVER R&D consortium brings together six partners spanning academia and industry: RWTH Aachen University, the Fraunhofer Center for Digital Energy, Gridhound GmbH, SGB-SMIT Group, SWW Wundsiedel, and Es-Geht! GmbH.