Schneider Electric is expanding its collaboration with Microsoft to help industrial companies modernise operations, move beyond proprietary legacy systems and deploy AI-powered automation at scale.
Working with h2e POWER, the companies have deployed India’s first fully autonomous solid oxide electrolyser (SOEC) system. The project enables operators to shift their focus from routine monitoring to higher-value operational work while demonstrating how AI and open automation can optimise energy-intensive industrial processes.
The system has surpassed 6000 hours of stable operation across both part- and full-load conditions. It has also demonstrated predictive maintenance capabilities and the potential to reduce electricity consumption by up to 10 per cent – a significant saving in hydrogen production, where electricity can account for more than 70 per cent of total costs.
The collaboration combines Schneider Electric’s open, software-defined automation technologies with Microsoft’s Azure cloud, AI and edge infrastructure, offering industrial organisations a vendor-neutral pathway to modernise operations without replacing existing equipment or halting production.
A key component is the Industrial Copilot, which extends AI capabilities to the edge using Microsoft Azure services. The tool automates time-consuming engineering tasks such as writing control logic, configuring systems and navigating technical documentation. Engineering teams using the technology have reported time savings of up to 50 per cent, with production line changes that once took weeks now completed in hours.
“Industrial leaders don’t need another vision; they need a migration path,” said Gwenaelle Huet, Executive Vice President of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. “Our collaboration with Microsoft and the Industrial Copilot delivers exactly that, proving even the most complex energy systems can operate as intelligent, autonomous assets.”
The project is underpinned by Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert platform, an open, software-defined automation architecture that separates software from hardware. This allows automation applications to run across equipment from multiple vendors and generations of infrastructure, while Microsoft Azure provides the secure cloud and edge backbone connecting sensors, machines and enterprise-level systems.
Green hydrogen is considered critical to global decarbonisation efforts but producing it reliably and affordably at scale remains a challenge. While SOEC technology offers some of the highest efficiency rates among hydrogen production methods, the demanding operating conditions have historically made autonomous operation difficult.
For h2e POWER, limited real-time visibility and closed automation systems had been pushing operating costs above design targets. Working with Schneider Electric, the company deployed an AI-enabled control solution on its 20kW SOEC system, allowing the electrolyser to continuously monitor and adjust thermal balance, hydrogen flow, energy inputs and equipment health in real time.
According to the companies, the results include improved energy efficiency, reduced stack wear and a reduction in the levelised cost of hydrogen of up to 10 per cent – equivalent to roughly EU€500,000 (about AU$826,000) per year for a typical 10MW plant.
“What we’re seeing at h2e POWER shows the future of industrial automation,” said Dayan Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing and Mobility at Microsoft.
“With Schneider Electric’s open automation and Microsoft’s AI capabilities powered by Azure, our systems are becoming smarter, more responsive, safer and far more scalable,” added Siddharth Mayur, Founder and Managing Director of h2e POWER.
