Royal Avebe Unlocks Electrification Gains Without Grid Expansion

Royal Avebe, working in partnership with Schneider Electric, has demonstrated how food and ingredient manufacturers can move forward with electrification—even amid severe grid constraints. At its Foxhol production facility in the Netherlands, the farmer‑owned starch and plant‑protein cooperative implemented an integrated energy and automation strategy that delivered measurable sustainability and operational benefits without requiring additional grid capacity.

The challenge: decarbonization in a constrained energy landscape

Across Europe, grid congestion has become a major barrier to industrial growth and decarbonization, with long wait times for new or upgraded connections.

For Avebe, this created a pressing challenge: How to electrify production processes and reduce emissions while operating within the limits of its existing grid connection.

Royal Avebe makes a range of ingredients created from potatoes the company grows itself.Retan/Adobe StockThe Strategy: Integrated Electrification and Digital Energy Management

To address this, Avebe partnered with Schneider Electric to rethink energy use at the plant level. The result was a holistic approach combining electrification with advanced digital control and real-time energy intelligence.

The solution was built on three core pillars:

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

At the Foxhol site, Schneider Electric deployed a fully integrated architecture that connects power systems, process operations, and energy data into a single operational view. Key solutions include:

• EcoStruxure Foxboro DCS for unified process control
• EcoStruxure Electrodynamic Controller for real-time load orchestration
• EcoStruxure Control HMI for operator visibility and intervention
• EcoStruxure EPAS for engineering and system configuration
• AVEVA PI System integration, consolidating more than 1,000 data points from across the facility

This digital foundation enables the plant to continuously monitor and adjust energy usage, ensuring operations stay within contracted limits while optimizing performance.

Europe's electricity grid congestion has become one of the biggest obstacles to industrial decarbonization.Schneider ElectricThe results: immediate gains without waiting for the grid

Using this approach, Avebe successfully electrified a portion of its production by installing a new industrial electric boiler and eliminating fossil-fuel-based heating—without increasing its grid connection.

The system dynamically shifts loads during periods of high demand and absorbs excess renewable energy when available, allowing the facility to act as an active energy prosumer while supporting grid stability.

For Avebe, the benefits are both immediate and long-term:

• Reduced emissions aligned with a 30% reduction target by 2030
• Improved energy efficiency through continuous optimization
• Greater operational flexibility in response to grid conditions
• Enhanced resilience in a constrained energy market
• Readiness for future integration of renewables and advanced monitoring

"Further electrifying our production processes is an important step in making our operations more sustainable,” says Joyce de Vries-Pieterman, Director of Communication & Public Affairs at Avebe. “Together with Schneider Electric, we are demonstrating that it is possible to make concrete progress toward future-proof and more energy-efficient production within the limits of what our existing grid connection allows.”

A model for food and beverage manufacturers

Avebe’s success illustrates how processors can take control of their energy transition despite infrastructure constraints. By combining electrification with digital energy management, the company has created a scalable model that enables progress today—rather than waiting years for grid expansion.

For manufacturers facing similar challenges, the takeaway is clear: smarter energy strategies can unlock both sustainability and competitiveness, even within existing limits.