Eaton AFRL Quantum Grid Security Contract

Eaton Corporation was awarded a $7 million, 24-month contract from the U.S. United States — Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to apply quantum computing, machine learning, and advanced visualization to improve power grid resilience and security. The project aims to address the contingency problem in grid management, enabling detection and response to multiple concurrent physical and cyber threats. Eaton will collaborate with Infleqtion, providing specialized quantum hardware, and Pennsylvania State University, supporting AI and machine learning algorithms. The effort includes developing new quantum algorithms, optimizing circuits for hybrid computation, and conducting experiments on multiple quantum hardware platforms, culminating in a proof-of-concept demonstration. The project responds to NERC's N-2 planning requirements by aiming to analyze and prepare for multiple, concurrent, and unpredictable threat combinations.