Hitachi Energy has signed a multiyear agreement with Italian technology firm Seco to improve its Energy Connect industrial-grade IoT data acquisition and ingestion platform.

This follows a one-year foundation-building phase focused on the development and integration of Seco’s Clea software.

Hitachi Energy will integrate the Clea framework to support secure data transfer and connected device lifecycle management. As Hitachi Energy consolidates its existing digital platforms into a single environment for the energy sector, this should enable secure, reliable and cost-efficient collection, aggregation and processing of real-time data from distributed assets such as transformers, battery energy storage systems and EV chargers.

The platform supports cloud and on-premises deployments, offering flexibility across different operating environments. Lifecycle management capabilities ensure full asset use and unlock improvements in operations, workforce planning, resource allocation and overall data-driven decision-making.

The platform will be able to run on Seco-developed devices for Hitachi Energy, as well as on existing installed hardware and third-party devices. This hardware-agnostic approach enables broad adoption of the IoT offering and simplifies the retrofitting of assets already in the field.

“We are excited to deepen our collaboration with Hitachi Energy, an important demonstration of the trust and technological value our partnership has created,” said Massimo Mauri, CEO of Seco. “Working with a global leader further validates our edge-to-AI strategy as a decisive response to future market needs and as an enabler of the next wave of industrial transformation.”

This agreement combines Seco’s expertise in edge computing, IoT and AI software with Hitachi Energy’s experience in electrification and grid technologies. Together, the companies aim to drive more efficient and sustainable management of energy infrastructure through innovative digital options.

“Our collaboration with Seco has played a key role in advancing our digital strategy,” said Marco Sanguineti, vice president at Hitachi Energy (www.hitachienergy.com). “Clea has proven to be a robust platform that meets our requirements for scalable deployment and secure fleet management of connected devices, supporting the accelerated rollout of our digitalisation.”

Seco (www.seco.com) develops and manufactures products for the digitalisation of industrial products and processes. Its hardware and software help B2B companies introduce edge computing, IoT, data analytics and AI. For more on Clea, visit clea.ai.