Schneider Electric, AVEVA, and Royal Avebe Provide a Concrete Example of Industrial Electrification Despite Europe's Grid Constraints

[Cengiz Özemli]

Despite electricity grid constraints in Europe, Schneider Electric, in collaboration with AVEVA and Royal Avebe, demonstrated that significant electrification steps can be taken within existing grid connections.

### Grid Constraints and Challenges

Across Europe, clean energy and electrification projects are experiencing significant backlogs in the electricity grid connection queue. In the Netherlands alone, over 14,000 businesses are awaiting the necessary capacity for growth, electrification, or decarbonization. While grid infrastructure renewal times range from 8-12 years, this process threatens the competitiveness of businesses.

### Innovative Solution at Royal Avebe's Foxhol Plant in the Netherlands

At Royal Avebe's Foxhol production facility, an integrated electrification strategy was implemented with consulting support from Schneider Electric. The plant eliminated fossil fuel-based heating by adding a new industrial electric boiler within its existing grid connection limits. This process avoided grid reinforcement or entering the capacity waiting queue.

### Electrification and Energy Management Strategy

• Unified power and process control
• Real-time energy intelligence
• Dynamic load management

This system collects data from over 1,000 measurement points, balancing electrical loads within contracted limits. When there is excess renewable energy, devices absorb the surplus energy, maintaining grid stability.

### Components of Schneider Electric's Technology Architecture

• EcoStruxure Foxboro DCS: Integrated process control
• EcoStruxure Electrodynamic Controller: Real-time load management
• EcoStruxure Control HMI: Operator visibility
• EcoStruxure EPAS: Engineering and configuration
• AVEVA PI System: Data collection from 542 smart medium voltage relays and other devices

### Future and Scalability

The Foxhol plant is also prepared for the integration of on-site renewable energy sources and advanced IIoT asset monitoring systems. This model can be applied to other energy-intensive industrial facilities facing similar grid constraints. This makes it possible to advance towards carbon reduction without waiting for large-scale grid infrastructure investments.

Schneider Electric and AVEVA showcased this innovative approach at Hannover Messe 2026.