Azagra joins roundtable with 15 global industry leaders, The Next R&D Hub: Investing in Innovation’s Future

Avangrid, Inc., a leading energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, announced that CEO Pedro Azagra participated in the Qatar Economic Forum. Azagra joined a roundtable discussion titled The Next R&D Hub: Investing in Innovation’s Future.

“Avangrid and Iberdrola are committed to partnering with Qatari and global business leaders to progress research and development of cutting-edge technologies,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “As growing innovation, economic development and energy demand require a critical need to invest in energy infrastructure, Avangrid is proud to move forward with our plan to invest $20 billion in the US grid through 2030.”

Hosted by Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council Secretary General Omar Al-Ansari, the roundtable brought together C-suite executives to explore the key forces shaping global R&D strategies, from talent access and regulatory shifts to geopolitical risk and market potential. The roundtable featured 15 delegates from diverse industries including tech, pharma, finance, and energy, among others.

Iberdrola is the number one private utility in the world in terms of R&D investment, with over €1.78 billion invested in the last five years, and €403 million in 2024 alone. Iberdrola leads dedicated innovation teams across their service geographies including U.S., Spain, U.K., Brazil, Australia, and Qatar, with Iberdrola’s Innovation Middle East.

Iberdrola Innovation Middle East was established in Qatar in 2016 at the Qatar Science and Technology Park. The center drives the development of innovation in digitization of the electrical system and leveraging AI and machine learning.

In the United States, Avangrid has been utilizing state of the art AI tools to unlock additional capacity on transmission lines, allowing for flexibility to safely increase the amount of energy flowing based on current conditions. This real time visibility reduces grid congestion and increases carrying capacity.

Avangrid is also piloting a mobile robot device to advance substation inspections using AI to increase energy reliability for customers. Avangrid’s utilities in Maine and New York are utilizing AI in the air and ground to map out and plan the grid of tomorrow.

About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. is a leading energy company in the United States working to meet the growing demand for energy for homes and businesses across the nation through service, innovation, and continued investments by expanding grid infrastructure and energy generation projects. Avangrid has offices in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine and Oregon, including operations in 23 states with approximately $48 billion in assets, and has two primary lines of business: networks and power. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England. Through its power generation business, Avangrid owns and operates more than 75 energy generation facilities across the United States producing 10.5 GW of power for over 3.1 million customers. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens in 2025 for the fifth consecutive year. The company was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2025 for the seventh consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit http://www.avangrid.com.

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