Schneider Electric and Microsoft Partnership Transforms Green Hydrogen with AI-Powered Open Software-Based Automation

[Erkan Teskancan]

Schneider Electric is deepening its collaboration with Microsoft, making it easier for industrial companies to modernize their operations, break free from proprietary legacy systems, and implement AI-powered automation scalably. At the heart of this partnership is the goal of transforming industrial automation into an open, software-defined structure that mirrors enterprise IT.

Most factories and energy facilities still use hardware-dependent control systems that are costly and difficult to update. Schneider Electric, with its EcoStruxure Automation Expert platform, separates software from hardware, offering application portability and reusability across equipment. Microsoft Azure, in turn, provides a secure cloud and edge computing infrastructure, ensuring connectivity from sensors to enterprise dashboards.

### Collaboration and Technology

• Schneider Electric's open software-defined automation combines with Microsoft Azure's AI and cloud services.
• Industrial Copilot automates engineering tasks such as control logic writing and system configuration, accelerating production.
• Production line changes can be completed in hours instead of weeks.

### Green Hydrogen Production with H2E POWER
h2e POWER, India's leading green hydrogen company, implemented a 20 kW fully autonomous solid oxide electrolyzer system in collaboration with Schneider Electric and Microsoft. This system:

• Achieved over 6000 hours of stable operation.
• Provided up to 10% savings in electricity consumption.
• Enables real-time and remote predictive maintenance and equipment status monitoring.

In a process where electricity costs account for over 70% of hydrogen production, this efficiency creates significant economic advantages. Siddharth Mayur, founder of H2E POWER, states that the open architecture facilitates extensive applications in different locations.

### Expert Opinions

• Dayan Rodriguez from Microsoft: "The future of industrial automation is here; the system is robust, scalable, and data is aggregated across all facilities on dashboards."
• Gwenaelle Huet from Schneider Electric: "The performance of software-defined automation has been proven in real-world conditions; complex energy systems can operate as intelligent, autonomous assets."

This development stands out as a significant step that removes barriers to modernization in industrial automation, accelerating the digital transformation of businesses.