Eaton and University of Notre Dame Collaborate on New EV Charging Infrastructure

Eaton, an intelligent power management company, is partnering with the University of Notre Dame to expand the university's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. 

The project aims to meet the growing demand for EV charging among students, faculty, staff, and the maintenance fleet, while supporting Notre Dame's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Eaton's ongoing collaboration with Notre Dame is part of its broader strategy to develop sustainable power management solutions.

Paul Kempf, assistant vice president for utilities and maintenance at Notre Dame, emphasised the significance of the collaboration:

"The university is pleased to be collaborating with Eaton in this emerging market as we work to continue to find ways to expand and diversify our microgrid here on campus.

“The university's relationship with Eaton has existed for over 30 years and has allowed our campus to benefit from a wide range of quality Eaton products, EV chargers and the associated software being just one example in a long line of successes.”

Eaton is equipping Notre Dame with its Green Motion Building chargers, which will be installed at various campus locations, including utility and maintenance buildings, commuter and faculty parking lots, an administrative building, the bookstore, and the art museum. 

The new chargers and accompanying software will provide valuable data to help Notre Dame better understand EV charging patterns and demand on campus.

Geory Kurtzhals, senior director of sustainability at Notre Dame, noted:

“The updated chargers and additional software will offer data to help us more fully understand use and demand for EV charging on campus. The insight offered can better inform decisions as we move forward.”

These chargers will be managed using Eaton’s Charging Network Manager software. This tool facilitates installation and allows for remote oversight of charging stations, including access control, monetisation, and cost reduction through load management.

John Rhodes, president of Assemblies and Residential Solutions at Eaton, highlighted the benefits of the project:

“We’re thrilled to build on our long history of collaboration with Notre Dame by supporting the university’s EV charging needs today and into the future.

“As EV adoption picks up speed, we’re delivering the breakout hardware and software capabilities needed to help the university implement fast, convenient and affordable EV charging infrastructure.”