Schneider Electric has outlined the next phase of its collaboration with Microsoft at Hannover Messe 2026, with the two companies presenting a software-defined manufacturing workflow that combines EcoStruxure Automation Expert with Azure cloud and AI services. The aim is to reduce engineering bottlenecks across design, simulation, commissioning, and operations, while improving traceability through the lifecycle of industrial automation projects.
At the centre of the collaboration is Schneider’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert platform, which is designed to let manufacturers author automation logic once and deploy it across different hardware and environments without extensive rework. Microsoft adds Azure-based AI and cloud services intended to coordinate, analyse, and optimise industrial processes across on-premises, edge, and hybrid infrastructure.
The joint workflow is built around a more connected engineering process than the one used in many existing automation programmes, where design, validation, commissioning, and runtime optimisation are still split between separate tools and teams. Schneider and Microsoft are presenting a model in which AI agents can automate routine design tasks, support validation before deployment, and help move reusable automation packages through the delivery process with fewer handoffs.
Schneider said its industrial copilot for manufacturers, powered by Azure AI, is already delivering up to 50% time savings on control configuration and documentation work. The company added that production line changes that previously took weeks can in some cases now be completed in hours, reflecting the extent to which engineering delay often sits in validation, documentation, and reconfiguration rather than in physical installation alone.
Gwenaelle Huet, executive vice president, industrial automation at Schneider Electric, said: “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.”
One of the operational examples being highlighted is a green hydrogen deployment with H2E Power in India. Schneider said the platform has maintained more than 6,000 hours of stable autonomous operation in a solid oxide electrolysis environment and reduced the levelised cost of hydrogen by up to 10% for a typical 10 MW plant. The application places the workflow in a setting where process stability, integration discipline, and early validation carry direct financial consequences.
Dayan Rodriguez, corporate vice president, manufacturing and mobility at Microsoft, said: “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.”
The companies are demonstrating the latest capabilities at their Hannover Messe stands, with Schneider Electric in Hall 13, Stand C34, and Microsoft in Hall 17, Stand G06. Further event details are available via Hannover Messe. As industrial AI platforms continue to move beyond advisory roles, engineering execution is emerging as one of the first areas where suppliers are trying to turn AI claims into measurable operational gains.
