Solar & Storage Live UK 2025, the nation’s largest event for renewable energy innovation, built anticipation for the technologies redefining our power landscape.
Amidst the buzz, we sat down with Cameron Millar, Application Engineer for Eaton, a company actively championing the distributed energy future. In this interview, Cameron outlines Eaton’s mission to transform static energy consumers into dynamic prosumers, driving the concept of “buildings as a grid”.
He also shares his perspective on the most impactful emerging technologies set to revolutionise both storage and EV charging, particularly the promise of solid-state batteries and megawatt charging.
“The current limitations in battery technology revolve around weight, size, and energy density. As these technologies improve over time, we gain more energy per kilogram.”
What is the role of Eaton in the industry?
Cameron: Eaton is fundamentally focused on advancing the idea of buildings as a grid.
Our core role is to encourage people to view their premises as a potential energy hub, making them less dependent on the main grid and enabling them to become prosumers, individuals or entities that both produce and consume their own energy.
This concept is realised by integrating on-site renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, with battery storage systems. Since adequately sized solar arrays often generate a substantial surplus, the storage captures this excess energy for later use.
Additionally, installing EV chargers allows the stored or generated excess power to be utilised for vehicle charging. We tie all these components together with an energy management system to ensure optimal energy flows.
This system allows us to implement predictive control. For example, by ensuring batteries are empty to maximise solar capture on a predicted sunny day or dynamically managing EV charging loads to prevent high building demand from overloading the system. We treat the entire building as a holistic energy ecosystem.
What are you showcasing at Solar & Storage Live UK?
Cameron: At the exhibition, we’re highlighting Eaton as a one-stop shop for comprehensive energy solutions. We are showcasing a wide range of products covering both AC and DC charging, from low-power solutions to high-power units, alongside our integrated battery storage systems.
Specifically on the stand, we have our Duo AC charger (2x22kW), various DC chargers, including the 22kW mobile unit and fixed 30kW and 60kW DC chargers. We also feature the ChargePoint CP6K charger, following our recent partnership.
Completing our display is our xStorage Hybrid BESS. Essentially, we are demonstrating that Eaton is the source for all necessary components: power distribution, EV charging, and energy storage.
Talk to us about the commissioning challenge happening this week.
Cameron: We are running a commissioning challenge onsite to underscore how simple and user-friendly our installation process is – we are ultra confident in the ease of commissioning our chargers!
The challenge uses our Green Motion Building AC charger (7.4kW up to 22kW). We challenge installers to take the unit from a full factory reset state, fully commission it, connect it to the charge point back end, and initiate a charge session within five minutes.
We set this up because, while the physical electrical install is routine for installers, they often find the connection to the software back end difficult and time-consuming. We are here to prove it doesn’t have to be – it is easy.
And, if you are the quickest of the day, you will get a little pack of Torx screwdrivers as a prize.
What feedback have you received from installers and decision makers?
Cameron: We have received very positive feedback from both groups. Installers are particularly pleased with the ease and speed of commissioning our units.
For key decision-makers, the most valued feature is the scalability of the chargers. This allows them to install units initially set at a lower power (e.g., 7.4kW) if they currently lack the necessary DNO connection or overall capacity.
The chargers can then be upgraded later to 22kW simply through a rewire or a settings change, avoiding the expense and hassle of a full hardware replacement. This inherent flexibility is a major selling point.
How do you ensure that the EV chargers meet the UK’s 99% reliability requirements?
Cameron: Achieving the required 99% reliability is a significant objective, driven partly by government initiatives aimed at improving the frustrating experience of drivers encountering broken chargers. Our strategy hinges on robust software intervention.
We utilise Charge Central, a system that sits between the charger and the back end. It performs predictive maintenance by continuously monitoring the unit’s operational parameters, such as detecting a fan running too quickly or the unit running too hot.
This allows us to diagnose potential issues and manage remote firmware updates. By catching these problems early, before they escalate into faults that cause downtime, we effectively maximise the charger’s reliability.
Which emerging technologies are you most excited about for EV charging and energy storage integration?
Cameron: I am most excited about advancements in emerging battery technologies. The current limitations in battery technology revolve around weight, size, and energy density. As these technologies improve over time, we gain more energy per kilogram.
This will benefit EVs (lighter vehicles, greater range) and for battery and building storage systems, where reduced physical size is crucial for fitting megawatt-hours of capacity into limited space. We are excited about technologies like solid-state batteries and the impact they will make on this challenge.
Additionally, I find the development of ultra-high-powered charging interesting. Specifically, MCS charging (megawatt charging) will be a game-changer, and we are interested in seeing the innovations that emerge in that space.
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