Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, has partnered with Royal Avebe, the farmer‑owned starch and plant‑protein cooperative, to electrify one of the production facilities in the Netherlands, the Foxhol site — a starch derivatives area consisting of several production facilities combined with utility supplies to third parties — without requiring reinforcement of the electricity grid beyond the site’s existing maximum connection.
Europe’s electricity grid congestion has become one of the biggest obstacles to industrial decarbonization.
Across the continent, more than 1,700 GWs of clean energy and electrification projects are stuck in grid connection queues, 133 percent annually since 2021, according to Eurelectric’s Power Barometer.
In the Netherlands alone, over 14,000 businesses are waiting for the capacity they need to grow, electrify, or decarbonize. For many, the wait stretches to a decade.
Electrification despite constraints
Working together at Avebe’s Foxhol production plant in Groningen, Netherlands, the two companies have demonstrated that it is possible to add a new industrial electric boiler, eliminate fossil-fuel heating, and become an active energy prosumer, all within the limits of the site’s existing grid connection, without requiring any reinforcement of the public electricity grid or joining a capacity waiting queue.
Critically, the project actively supports grid balancing, creating headroom for more businesses and renewable generators to connect.
Electrifying at the limits of the grid
While grid connection applications across Europe have increased, new high-voltage infrastructure in the Netherlands takes eight to twelve years to deliver.
Ninety percent of Dutch businesses now report feeling the direct or indirect effects of grid congestion, according to the Dutch SME Monitor, while the Dutch Chemical Association has warned that the backlog threatens the competitiveness of the country’s entire industrial base.
The EU’s own European Grids Package, published in December 2025, acknowledged that at least 16 member states are experiencing grid connection queue problems, and that the backlog is slowing both the clean transition and European economic growth.
Regulatory guidance will help, but new physical infrastructure will take years to arrive, and manufacturers cannot wait.
Holistic electrification and digital energy strategy
Avebe engaged Schneider Electric’s Advisory Services team to fundamentally rethink how the Foxhol site uses, manages, and exchanges energy.
The result is an integrated electrification strategy built on three pillars: unified power and process control, real-time energy intelligence, and dynamic load management.
The platform consolidates data from over 1,000 points across the site, including 542 smart medium-voltage relays, into a single operational view.
When grid demand rises, the system automatically shifts electrical loads to operate within the site’s contracted grid limits and technical constraints.
When renewable energy is abundant and local grid demand is low, the plant absorbs the surplus and actively supports grid stability.
This electrification roadmap directly contributes to Avebe’s climate targets, including a 30 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and a continuous 1.5 percent annual energy‑efficiency improvement.
Further electrifying our production processes is an important step in making our operations more sustainable. 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, said Joyce de Vries-Pieterman, Director Communication & Public Affairs, Avebe.
Technology architecture
To deliver this, Schneider Electric deployed a fully integrated digital architecture that unifies power automation, process control, and real‑time operational insight. The solution includes:
- “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 the engineering environment and configuration
- “AVEVA PI” system integration, consolidating 1,000+ data points from 542 smart Medium Voltage relays and legacy devices into a single operational view
Replicable model for industrial Europe
Avebe’s approach is designed to scale. The same combination of dynamic load management, real-time energy intelligence, and prosumer capability can be applied at any energy-intensive industrial site across Europe facing similar grid constraints.
For manufacturers in food and beverage, chemicals, paper, and other sectors — industries that collectively represent a significant share of Europe’s remaining industrial emissions — it offers a way to move forward on decarbonization without waiting for large-scale grid infrastructure expansion that may be a decade away.
What Avebe has achieved at Foxhol is a proof of concept for industrial Europe. Grid constraints need not mean decarbonization delays. With the right combination of electrification, open automation, and digital intelligence, manufacturers can act now, said Neil Smith, President, Consumer-Packaged Goods, Schneider Electric.
The Foxhol plant is now positioned to integrate onsite renewable generation and advanced IIoT asset monitoring as the next step, building on the digital foundation already in place.
