Emerson launches Ovation 4.0, A Software-Defined, AI-Ready Automation Platform for Power and Water Industries

Emerson is enhancing its Ovation™ Automation Platform with a software-defined architecture to help utilities better utilize data, new technologies, and AI. This upgrade will enable industries to achieve higher levels of operational excellence and meet the growing demand for reliable, affordable, and sustainable power and water.

The energy transition, global sustainability goals, and the "electrification of everything" are transforming the power and water industries. These challenges require modern, adaptive technologies that connect previously isolated data and provide a comprehensive operational view to improve performance and availability.

Emerson’s Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform is part of the company’s Boundless Automation™ vision, integrating and delivering crucial data on reliability, safety, production, and sustainability across enterprises to optimize operations. The software-defined platform enhancements include advanced automation, simulation, and AI capabilities.

“Our next-generation platform will modernize power and water operations, enabling predictive strategies to help utilities meet the evolving pressures of the industries,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson’s power and water business. “Ovation 4.0 offers a single automation platform with real-time data, allowing customers to keep pace with rapidly changing markets and providing the insights they need to work smarter, better, and faster.”

Operators with diverse energy portfolios—including combined cycle plants, wind farms, hydro facilities, solar panels, battery storage, microgrids, and electric vehicle charging stations—can rely on Ovation 4.0’s grid edge ecosystem to manage real-time, bidirectional inputs and distribute data across their networks. Grid edge controllers provide a detailed view of the grid through high-speed, localized computing environments, improving load and demand management.

Emerson’s updated Ovation software platform is part of a comprehensive solutions portfolio designed to future-proof utilities, including advanced pattern recognition and machine learning technologies to monitor, control, and optimize assets. These technologies can be used in local or remote control centers to centralize knowledge, predict maintenance needs, and optimize operations. The new Ovation View Human Machine Interface and Ovation Green renewable supervisory control and data acquisition software offer a clear view of operations, advanced analytics, and forecasting tools. The integration of these features in Ovation 4.0 enhances holistic awareness across traditional and renewable energy segments, reducing costs and increasing plant safety, reliability, and sustainability.

The Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform also includes generative AI models trained on secure Ovation knowledge-based data, offering prescriptive guidance on operational and maintenance practices. Ovation digital twin technology with AI models provides extensive analytical computing power, enabling data-driven decisions, business-wide collaboration, and on-demand support.

All Ovation 4.0 technologies will be supported through the Guardian™ digital customer experience, providing real-time monitoring, in-depth analytics, and actionable insights.

“With our portfolio unified under the Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform, power and water companies have access to a comprehensive technology ecosystem, unmatched industry expertise, cohesive customer support, and decades of engineering innovation,” Yeager said. “This enhancement strengthens our position as a go-to partner, helping customers modernize with a software-defined architecture that offers advanced control systems without overhauling existing infrastructure.”