Schneider Electric Adds Data Center and Microgrid Testing Labs to Andover, MA Global R&D Center
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy management and automation, has established its Global Innovation Hubs as key centers for technological advancement, collaboration, and sustainable development.
These hub facilities serve as ecosystems where cutting-edge solutions in energy efficiency, industrial automation, and digital transformation are designed, tested, and deployed to address the world’s most pressing energy and sustainability challenges.
Energy Management and Industrial Automation Focus
Strategically located around the world, Schneider Electric’s Global Innovation Hubs are positioned to drive regional and global innovation in energy management and industrial automation.
The hubs focus on developing smart, connected, and sustainable solutions across various sectors, including data centers, smart buildings, industrial automation, and renewable energy.
Key aspects of the Schneider Global Innovation Hubs include:
Collaboration and Co-Innovation: Partnering with startups, industry leaders, and research institutions to accelerate innovation. Fostering an open ecosystem where ideas can be rapidly developed and tested.
Digital Transformation and Automation: Leveraging IoT, AI, and cloud technologies to enhance energy efficiency. Implementing digital twin technology for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance.
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency: Developing solutions that contribute to decarbonization and net-zero emissions. Creating energy-efficient systems for buildings, industries, and critical infrastructure.
Customer-focused Innovation: Offering live demonstrations, simulation environments, and test labs for customers. Customizing solutions to meet specific industry challenges and regulatory requirements.
Schneider's Andover R&D Lab Highlights
While there are 11 hubs worldwide to give the global customer base more convenient locations where they can evaluate Schneider product, the new lab facilities have also been added to one of the company's five global R&D locations.
The selected location is co-located with Schneider’s US research labs in Andover, Massachusetts. With the addition of these two new labs there are now 41 labs located in Andover. Over the last year, Schneider Electric has invested approximately $2.4 billion in R&D.
The 53,000 sq ft Innovation Hub Andover sees more than 18,000 annual visitors, and the labs on-site give researchers and customers the opportunity for real world evaluations of the Schneider product line.
PDU and Microgrid Labs
The new Power Distribution Unit laboratory is designed to allow customers and researchers to test the high-powered voltage systems designed for implementing and deploying AI data centers. With 6,000 sq ft of available space divided into three testing bays multiple configurations can be configured and tested to meet the customer requirements.
The Microgrid laboratory is a 1500 sq ft space that includes four 90 kW grid simulators and three 45 kW solar simulators. The four grid simulators are the equivalent of 300 homes using the provided power, while the solar simulators represent the energy demand of 110 homes.
The Andover facility also includes testing capabilities for the Schneider Electric behind-the-meter energy storage system, known as BESS. BESS, a fully self-contained, containerized battery system, is in this case used to simulate energy storage systems to work in conjunction with other services in the hub.
Schneider has significant experience in the microgrid space, having designed, built, and maintained more than 350 microgrid projects. Microgrid projects in the United States have been managing more than 100 GW of power.
About these labs, Pankaj Sharma, Executive Vice President, Data Centers & Networks at Schneider Electric, said:
As AI revolutionizes industries and consumers demand more data for digital services, the need for data centers continues to rapidly expand. Additionally, industrial environments, businesses, municipalities, hospitals, and schools are seeking resilient solutions for their energy needs, and microgrids offer a terrific solution. These new R&D labs will help us deliver future-proof, reliable and efficient energy solutions to our customers.
Custom Microgrids
The testing labs are configured to allow customers to test the Schneider solutions under real-world conditions.
This enables more efficient and effective designs for the target microgrids which can result in faster delivery of custom microgrids, a significant advantage in these days of necessary flexibility in design to cope with rapidly changing energy requirements and capabilities.
There are a variety of technologies that can be tested within the microgrid lab. These energy sources include on-site renewables; solar, backup generators, battery energy storage systems.
On this point, Khaled Fakhuri, Schneider Electric’s Senior Vice President of Global Microgrids, said:
“By integrating a spectrum of DERs (distributed energy resources), alongside a grid connection, the lab delivers tested, validated and documented architectures using a more standardized approach to accelerate the deployment of robust microgrid controls.
Local Support
With an existing focus on the State of Massachusetts desire to encourage industry leading energy technologies, Rebecca Tepper, Secretary, Energy and Environmental Affairs, Commonwealth of Massachusetts said:
Microgrids are a critical tool to power our homes, businesses, and growing industries like AI. Schneider Electric’s innovative technologies tested and utilized here in Andover will help meet growing demand with clean energy resources, demonstrating again that our economic development and climate goals are closely linked.
Yvonne Hao, the state's Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development, pointed out that data centers were critical to the nation's technology and that microgrids are a “game changer” in integrating energy intensive industries such as data centers into local communities.
Conclusion
Schneider Electric’s Innovation Hubs reflect the company’s commitment to driving the future of energy and automation through sustainable, digital, and efficient solutions. These hubs play a critical role in shaping industries by providing businesses and governments with the tools needed to enhance efficiency, resilience, and sustainability in an increasingly digital world.
Related Stories
Data Center Frontier has previously reported on several developments in industry testing and innovation labs. Notable highlights have included:
Accelsius and iM Data Centers Collaborate on Advanced Cooling Solutions: In January 2025, Accelsius and iM Data Centers partnered to demonstrate next-generation cooling technologies at iM's Miami data center. This collaboration aims to address the increasing demands of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) workloads by integrating advanced liquid cooling systems.
Telehouse Launches Liquid Cooling Lab in the UK: To meet the growing demand for AI and HPC capabilities, global data center operator Telehouse established a liquid cooling lab in the UK in January 2025. This initiative allows customers to explore the benefits of liquid cooling for their data center operations, showcasing Telehouse's commitment to innovation.
Equinix's Co-Innovation Facility (CIF): In January 2022, Equinix introduced a Co-Innovation Facility in Ashburn, Virginia, as part of its "Data Center of the Future" initiative. The CIF serves as a testing ground for new technologies, including liquid-cooled servers, fuel cells, sodium-ion batteries, and intelligent power management systems, underscoring Equinix's dedication to pioneering data center solutions.
