Rockwell Automation, Actemium Deploy AI to Cut Refrigeration Energy Use
HOSPITALITY
Autonomous PlantPAx-powered application continuously improves refrigeration systems to help reduce energy costs and equipment strain.
Rockwell Automation, a global leader dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, is helping make one of the most energy-intensive systems in frozen food manufacturing more efficient. Its PlantPAx modern distributed control system powers a new autonomous AI application developed by PartnerNetwork member Actemium which continuously selects energy-efficient operating configurations for industrial refrigeration equipment.
Real-Time Coefficient of Performance Solution
Actemium created the solution, known as Real-Time Coefficient of Performance (RtCOP), for a large producer of frozen french fry products. To date, RtCOP helps the food producer increase energy efficiency by 17 percent, delivering an estimated $130,000 annual savings per site. The solution also reduces strain on refrigeration assets, helping improve long-term equipment reliability.
RtCOP functions like an always-on virtual operator, continuously analyzing system capacities, efficiencies, and environmental conditions in real time to determine and implement energy-efficient combinations of compressors, condensers, and evaporators.
"Autonomous optimization can help food producers conserve energy, reduce costs, and ease demands on their workforce," said Jim Gillis, general manager, Actemium Atlantic Canada. "Energy-based equipment ranking that is performed continuously and consistently is something human operators simply can't do in real time. This solution has the potential to transform refrigeration across food manufacturing."
PlantPAx DCS Platform Architecture
The solution runs on Rockwell Automation's PlantPAx DCS, which provides real-time data access, processing speed, and system transparency to enable continuous, autonomous optimization.
Industrial refrigeration accounts for up to 70 percent of a plant's electricity consumption, making it one of the largest opportunities for energy optimization in food manufacturing. Historically, these systems are operated to meet cooling demand rather than maximize energy efficiency, in part because operators lack the time and tools to continuously evaluate performance shifts.
The 70 percent figure positions refrigeration as the dominant energy consumer in frozen food facilities, creating substantial financial incentive for optimization while the continuous evaluation requirement highlights operational complexity that prevents manual optimization approaches from achieving comparable results.
Strategic Context and Skills Gap
"Solutions like RtCOP are increasingly needed as food producers face skills shortages, particularly in specialized areas like refrigeration, and pressure to operate more efficiently and sustainably," said Kris Dornan, Commercial Marketing Manager, Rockwell Automation. "Technologies like the PlantPAx modern DCS make AI-driven autonomous applications possible, and experienced partners like Actemium make them happen."
The positioning addresses a documented labor challenge in industrial refrigeration where technical expertise requirements intersect with broader manufacturing workforce shortages, making automation of specialized knowledge particularly valuable. The sustainability pressure reflects both regulatory trends and corporate environmental commitments that create operational imperatives beyond pure cost reduction.
Scaling Strategy and Performance Visibility
Actemium is helping the food producer scale the solution across its fleet of refrigeration plants. Key performance indicator dashboards enable site-to-site visibility into performance and benchmarking of system efficiency.
The fleet-wide scaling approach creates network effects where performance data from multiple installations informs optimization algorithms across the entire system, while cross-site benchmarking reveals operational best practices and identifies underperforming assets that warrant targeted intervention.
Market Opportunity and Solution Differentiation
The frozen food application represents a particularly high-value use case for autonomous refrigeration optimization given the sector's energy intensity, but the underlying technology applies broadly across cold chain logistics, pharmaceutical storage, chemical processing, and other temperature-controlled manufacturing environments where refrigeration represents significant operational expense.
The autonomous operation model differentiates RtCOP from static setpoint control or rules-based automation by enabling continuous adaptation to changing conditions including ambient temperature, production schedules, equipment degradation, and energy pricing, creating optimization opportunities that fixed programming cannot capture.
Implementation Approach and Partner Ecosystem
The Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork model enables specialized solution providers like Actemium to develop industry-specific applications on standardized control platforms, combining vertical domain expertise with horizontal technology capabilities. This architecture allows food producers to access sophisticated AI applications without requiring in-house machine learning development capabilities.
The PlantPAx DCS provides the real-time processing, data integration, and control infrastructure necessary for autonomous operation, while Actemium contributes refrigeration engineering knowledge and optimization algorithms tuned specifically for food manufacturing operational constraints.
About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), operates as a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. The company connects the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to customers in more than 100 countries as of fiscal year end 2025.
Additional information about Rockwell Automation's suite of products for food and beverage production is available at rockwellautomation.com/en-us/industries/food-beverage.html.
Additional information about the Actemium collaboration is available at rockwellautomation.com/en-us/company/news/case-studies/refrigeration-energy-ai.html.
About Actemium
Actemium delivers bespoke solutions and services to clients across 40 countries. Its multi-disciplinary network combines the expertise of 400 local business units with a global approach to create value throughout the entire industrial life cycle. Actemium's 24,400 experts share with their clients the strong conviction that industry is key to building a sustainable world and strive to make a positive contribution to global performance. Additional information is available at actemium.com.