Schneider Electric and Microsoft present agentic manufacturing at Hannover

Schneider Electric and Microsoft presented new agentic manufacturing capabilities at Hannover Messe 2026, linking automation software with Azure Artificial Intelligence (AI) services. The companies said the approach focused on running automation logic across cloud and edge environments while maintaining traceability across manufacturing steps.

Schneider Electric described manufacturers’ pressure to handle product variability, supply chain instability, and modernization needs, and it tied the collaboration to connecting engineering intent with real-time execution. It said teams could standardize reusable logic, use simulation for validation, and scale interoperable operations across sites and hardware.

The collaboration centered on EcoStruxure Automation Expert, which the release described as an open, software-defined automation platform running consistently across on-premises (on-prem), edge, and hybrid environments. Microsoft added Azure cloud and AI services to orchestrate, analyze, and optimize industrial processes, forming a unified approach to agentic manufacturing, open automation, and end-to-end sustainability.

Schneider Electric said it worked with Microsoft to develop an integrated workflow spanning design, engineering, build, commissioning, and operations, with automation logic authored, simulated, validated, and deployed once. It said engineers reported up to 50% time savings for control configuration and documentation tasks, and production line changes that took weeks were completed in hours. “From agentic design to software defined operations, Microsoft and Schneider Electric demonstrate a single, interoperable workflow that validates, simulates, and deploys automation logic consistently across cloud and edge,” said Gwenaelle Huet, EVP Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. In separate field references, the release cited live autonomous green hydrogen deployment with H2E Power and a result of more than 6,000 hours of stable autonomous operation, with levelized cost of hydrogen reduced by up to 10%, equivalent to around €500,000 per year for a typical 10 Megawatt (MW) plant. “With agentic design, we’re closing the loop from engineering intent to operational reality, automating decisions, validating early, and handing off reusable automation packages that Schneider Electric can simulate and deploy consistently across cloud and edge,” said Dayan Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President, Manufacturing and Mobility, Microsoft.