Hitachi Energy to Open Cary Engineering Center, Adding 150 Jobs

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright made an on-site visit to a Cary construction project Wednesday as Hitachi Energy announced it will open a 32,000-square-foot Power Electronics Center of Competence there, representing a $10 million investment and 150 new jobs when the facility opens this fall.

The center, part of Hitachi Energy's broader $1 billion U.S. manufacturing push announced in 2025, will expand engineering, testing and system integration capabilities in Cary and serve as the Zurich-based company's global hub for energy cybersecurity, a function aimed at protecting critical grid infrastructure from digital threats.

Marco Berardi, Hitachi Energy's senior vice president of grid and power quality solutions and service, framed the Cary investment around accelerating electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence. "Demand is growing faster and the grid has become the new frontline of energy security," Berardi said. "As AI data centers reshape consumption patterns and electrification accelerates across industries, this new center will strengthen our ability to respond quickly with localized expertise, helping customers maintain grid stability, resilience and reliability."

Wright, whose visit elevated the announcement to a national stage, noted the grid modernization stakes directly: "Hitachi Energy's expansion in North Carolina will create hundreds of jobs, make electricity more affordable, and help develop the technology and workforce needed to modernize and secure our grid."

Hitachi Energy has maintained a presence in the Triangle for years. The Cary center expands on that foothold, adding technologies designed to increase transmission capacity on existing power lines rather than building new ones, a critical capability as utilities scramble to meet demand from the region's rapidly growing data center corridor. The company says the facility will accelerate what it calls "time-to-power," reducing delays for utilities and industrial customers connecting to the grid.

The Cary announcement is one piece of a larger national buildout. Hitachi Energy's $1 billion U.S. commitment also includes a $457 million large power transformer factory in South Boston, Virginia, aimed at reducing domestic supply chain bottlenecks for equipment the grid depends on.

For Wake County's economic development portfolio, 150 engineering, technical and cybersecurity positions represent a meaningful cluster of higher-wage jobs at a moment when the state is actively investing in energy workforce pipelines. In February, the Siemens Foundation launched a $9.25 million training program in North Carolina focused on narrowing skills gaps in electrical trades, a parallel effort that signals how seriously the state is building toward grid-economy employment.

The Power Electronics Center of Competence is scheduled to open in fall 2026. Hiring announcements and workforce partnership opportunities are expected to follow as the opening date approaches.