Hitachi Energy and AWS strategic collaboration accelerates innovation in the cloud and advances the energy transition

Press Release | Zurich, Switzerland | 25.03.2025 | 2 min read

Cloud-based AI vegetation management solution enhances grid efficiency and reliability
The average annual U.S. utility spends $27M on vegetation management; over 50% of utilities say that is insufficient¹
Hitachi Energy and AWS to collaborate on asset and work management software delivery, offering innovative solutions to address rising energy system complexity

Hitachi Energy, has signed a multi-year strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate how utility and energy-intensive companies deploy cloud-based solutions and advance the energy transition.

The initial focus of the agreement delivers Hitachi Vegetation Manager, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven vegetation management system, on AWS. This innovative solution aims to significantly reduce power or system outages caused by vegetation interference with critical infrastructure.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, vegetation-related impacts to the power system are the most common cause of power outages in the U.S., accounting for more than 20% of incidents². Vegetation-related disruptions also present substantial operational challenges and high maintenance costs for power line and rail operators.

Hitachi Vegetation Manager, a closed-loop digital vegetation management system, leverages a powerful combination of AI, satellite imagery, and real-time weather forecasts to deliver predictive insights that help customers proactively identify and mitigate vegetation interference and risks. By predicting potential threats before they cause outages, the system is built to drastically reduce downtime, enhance service reliability, and lower maintenance expenditures.

Our focus goes beyond manufacturing and installation of advanced grid technology. We also deliver a diverse portfolio of core digital solutions, like Hitachi Vegetation Manager, to ensure energy systems run at peak performance. The grid is becoming more complex with the addition of renewables, as well as increasing demand for electrification driven by AI, EVs, and beyond.

Our collaboration with AWS now allows us to harness the power of cloud computing and artificial intelligence, making this technology readily accessible to operators worldwide.

Massimo Danieli
Managing Director of Hitachi Energy's Business Unit Grid Automation

Hitachi and AWS are building on prior collaborations. Most recently, Hitachi Energy and AWS successfully delivered a cloud-based network management solution for Conduit Power, slashing deployment time from 18 to 6 months.

As the energy industry continues to undergo massive transformation, the cloud offers tangible opportunities for utility, rail, and energy companies to optimize operations, improve reliability and resiliency, and scale and maximize investments.

Working with Hitachi Energy, first on the collaboration for Conduit Power and now through the SCA, demonstrates the power and capabilities of the cloud to scale solutions and evolve with organizations, accelerate innovation, and deliver exceptional value to our shared customers.

Howard Gefen
GM for Energy and Utilities at AWS

The SCA includes a framework for the two companies to deliver additional solutions from Hitachi Energy’s asset and work management solutions portfolio in AWS Marketplace. The collaboration agreement leverages AWS’s robust cloud infrastructure to ensure seamless scalability, ease of use, and rapid deployment of Hitachi Energy's software solutions. Operators can effortlessly access powerful predictive analytics, and other workforce management solutions, enabling more informed decision-making and efficient execution of critical operations.

This strategic collaboration underscores Hitachi Energy’s ongoing commitment to advance digital transformation in the energy sector, maximize the integration of renewable energy, and ensure uninterrupted, reliable power delivery globally.

Note to Editors

Join Hitachi Energy and AWS leaders for a lightning talk about vegetation management for distribution utilities at DISTRIBUTECH® 2025 in booth #2723 on March 25 at 2:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time.
Read this blog to deep dive on Hitachi Vegetation Manager.
Hear Hitachi Energy speak at the 2025 AWS Energy Symposium, taking place in June 2025.

Footnotes:

About Hitachi Energy

Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We are advancing the world’s energy system to be more sustainable, flexible and secure and we collaborate with customers and partners to enable a sustainable energy future – for today’s generations and those to come. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries, serving customers in utility, industry, transportation, data centers and infrastructure sectors. With innovative technologies and services including the integration of more than 150 gigawatts of HVDC links into the power system, we help make the energy value chain more efficient, making electricity more accessible to all. Together with stakeholders across sectors and geographies, we enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 45,000 people in 60 countries and generate business volumes of around $13 billion USD.

https://www.hitachienergy.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/hitachienergy
https://x.com/HitachiEnergy

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the 3 business sectors of “Digital Systems & Services” – supporting our customers’ digital transformation; “Green Energy & Mobility” – contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and “Connective Industries” – connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company’s revenues as 3 sectors for fiscal year 2023 (ended March 31, 2024) totaled 8,564.3 billion yen, with 573 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 270,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.