Power management company Eaton and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are teaming up for a $7 million initiative to advance quantum computing and machine learning to enhance grid resiliency.

As the U.S. Air Force's primary research and development hub, AFRL leads air, space and cyberspace warfighting technology efforts through a global network spanning nine tech areas and 40 operational sites.

Under a 24-month contract announced on Thursday, Eaton will collaborate with partners Infleqtion and Penn State University (PSU) to develop new algorithms and hybrid quantum methods to bolster power grid protection, according to a release. The goal is to improve government and utility detection capabilities through advanced visualization tools to map physical and cyber threats on the grid.

Currently, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) requires traditional transmission systems to withstand two sequential failures, known as N‑2 Planning. The AFRL project aims to push past these limits by analyzing and testing multiple concurrent, unpredictable combination scenarios.

These threats range from extreme weather and wildfires to coordinated cyberattacks by a professional hacker or political adversary.

“We’re facing unprecedented risks to electric reliability and security from extreme weather, wildfires, physical and cyber threats and need tools that consider many failures at once,” said Sid Suryanarayanan, senior chief engineer of strategic partnerships and innovation at Eaton. “This AFRL‑funded project pairs Eaton’s grid expertise with quantum and machine learning methods to bring faster awareness and more actionable control to critical energy systems.”

Eaton states its primary focus in this project will be on addressing a security challenge known as the “contingency problem” in electrical grid management. It involves evaluating multiple grid configurations to identify hidden vulnerabilities in the system.  

By combining its expertise in intelligent power management with specialized quantum hardware from Infleqtion and PSU’s support in AI and advanced machine learning algorithms, Eaton aims to deliver next-gen solutions that improve grid security for the future.

“This research will enhance infrastructure planning, daily operations and emergency preparedness, bringing unprecedented awareness, anticipation and response to strengthen infrastructure,” said Dr. Christopher A. Herbst, vice president, strategic partnerships and innovation at Eaton.