Milestones towards Autonomous Plants

As sponsor of the 88th NAMUR General Meeting, KROHNE is shaping the event under the theme  “Future-proofing our Industry: Milestones towards Autonomous Plants” . The (partial) autonomisation of plants is one of the key future topics in the process industry.

The aim is to operate processes largely automatically and with minimal human intervention, using advanced technologies – delivering benefits such as increased efficiency, enhanced safety, and reduced operational costs.

At the 2025 NAMUR General Meeting, KROHNE places this topic at the heart of the discussion. As a leading provider of process instrumentation, we demonstrate how precise measurement forms the foundation of autonomous control systems – because without measurement, there can be no control.

We will demonstrate at the NAMUR Annual General Meeting which enablers and necessities we see in the area of plant autonomisation and what we are still working on. We are implementing exciting projects with various member companies and want to highlight both the challenges and, in particular, the successes we have achieved.

We have achieved a significant part of our successes through the use of AI. The potential we have discovered in the joint projects was previously unimaginable to the users. With our examples, we show what AI can already achieve for the autonomisation of plants and aim to inspire new ideas for its application. In the process industry, we are often still at the forefront of the milestones on the path to autonomous plants, meaning the potential of the later milestones, which we can already see in theory, could be much greater in practice.

The autonomisation of plants spans a wide range of technical disciplines – from advanced automation technology and intelligent sensor systems to AI-driven data analysis and decision-making.

Our topics at the NAMUR General Meeting 2025 are:


 

 

  • Standardised communication via Ethernet-APL, NOA, OPC UA and administration shell as the basis for autonomous plants

 

  • Device and process diagnostics as well as predictive maintenance through intelligent sensor technology for faster commissioning and higher plant availability

 

 

 

Are you interested in the topics we will be covering at the NAMUR General Meeting? Please register here. We are planning in-person and online events for interested parties from the process industry following the 2025 general meeting.