NEURA, E.ON and enviaM plan humanoid robots for power grid work

NEURA Robotics, E.ON and the enviaM Group announced on 5 November that they will build robots for electricity-grid operations. The planned tasks are equipment inspections, monitoring of critical assets such as substations, and support for workers doing demanding or potentially hazardous jobs. enviaM's grid subsidiary MITNETZ STROM is the pilot partner, and first practical experience is expected during 2027.

The work starts with picking suitable workflows and teaching robots skills under controlled conditions, then testing them in real grid operations. Training takes place at TUM RoboGym in Munich, mixing human demonstrations, data from real robots and simulation. Grid specialists will show how they judge equipment on site. NEURA supplies the humanoid, such as its 4NE1, and the training tools, while the two energy companies bring the grid knowledge. They also keep control of their data and trained skills.

Why it matters

Substations and control cabinets are built for people, so a humanoid that copes with stairs, doors and tools could work without changes to the buildings. The partners have not given robot numbers, deployment sites, performance targets or a commercial rollout plan. The accompanying video also shows demonstrations inside NEURA's own facilities, not at a grid site. The next step is choosing concrete use cases, and the 2027 pilot should show which tasks can leave the training hall for daily grid work.