Actemium deploys AI refrigeration optimization platform

Actemium implemented an AI-based refrigeration optimization system to reduce energy consumption and improve operational efficiency across frozen-food facilities.

Actemium has developed and deployed an AI-based refrigeration optimization application for a frozen-food manufacturer to improve energy efficiency, reduce operational costs and increase performance visibility across multiple industrial refrigeration plants.

The solution, called RtCOP, was built on the PlantPAx^® distributed control system platform and designed to autonomously manage refrigeration equipment configurations in real time.

Industrial refrigeration systems are among the largest energy consumers in frozen-food production facilities, in some cases accounting for up to 70% of total electricity use. For the manufacturer, reducing energy intensity while maintaining production performance had become a strategic priority alongside sustainability objectives.

The company also faced operational challenges linked to workforce shortages in industrial refrigeration. As experienced technicians retired, maintaining and optimizing complex refrigeration systems became increasingly difficult.

Replacing conventional lead-lag control methods
Historically, refrigeration equipment at the facilities operated using conventional lead-lag control logic focused primarily on maintaining cooling demand rather than minimizing energy use.

Although operators could manage major operational changes, evaluating subtle efficiency variations across compressors, condensers and evaporators in real time was difficult to perform manually on a continuous basis.

The manufacturer worked with Actemium, part of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™, to develop a system capable of continuously identifying the most energy-efficient operating configuration automatically.

AI-based optimization on PlantPAx^®
Actemium developed RtCOP as an autonomous optimization application operating continuously across refrigeration assets.

The system evaluates multiple combinations of compressors, condensers and evaporators in real time, calculating the coefficient of performance (COP) for each possible operating scenario. When a more efficient configuration is identified, the application automatically adjusts equipment operation by activating or deactivating assets and optimizing variable-speed devices.

According to Actemium, PlantPAx^® provided the processing capabilities and transparency required to support the application’s continuous calculations and equipment management logic.

Rather than using a closed black-box AI model, the application was developed within a distributed control system architecture using structured text, ladder logic and modular add-on instructions. This approach was intended to simplify scalability, improve operational transparency and support long-term digital transformation initiatives across the customer’s refrigeration plants.

Energy savings and improved equipment performance
Following the first deployment, the frozen-food manufacturer achieved a 20% increase in refrigeration system COP, resulting in approximately 17% energy savings.

According to Actemium, the reduction in energy consumption is projected to generate annual cost savings of around $130,000 per facility.

The optimized operating strategy also reduced mechanical strain on refrigeration assets, contributing to improved reliability and long-term equipment performance.

“By increasing efficiency, you’re decreasing the strain on the equipment itself, which makes the entire system more reliable,” said Rosaline Antoun, Product Manager at Actemium.

The project also established a new operational model based on autonomous energy-focused equipment ranking performed continuously without operator intervention.

Following the initial implementation, the solution is being expanded across additional refrigeration facilities operated by the manufacturer. KPI dashboards are also being deployed to provide consistent performance visibility and site-to-site comparison across the company’s refrigeration network.

Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.

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