Crux Digits builds the AI layer that does not just measure your energy but automatically steers it. An energy management system (EMS) that measures every relevant load, then steers consumption, storage, generation and flexible processes — to cut costs, avoid peaks and stay within your grid connection. Fixed prices, you own the code, EU AI Act- and GDPR-aware.
Last updated: 11 June 2026
An energy management system (EMS) for industry measures every relevant load, then automatically steers loads, storage, generation and flexible processes to cut cost, avoid peaks and stay within your grid connection. Crux Digits builds the AI layer that does the steering, not just the measuring: a system that forecasts demand and prices, optimises in real time, and integrates with your existing SCADA, PLC, meters and ERP.
Crux Digits is a boutique AI consultancy and development partner for Dutch SMEs (MKB), based in Nieuwegein in the Utrecht region. Bilingual (EN/NL), with transparent fixed pricing — a €2,500 AI audit, a €20,000 proof of concept and a production build from €50,000 — delivered by a named expert (founder Tom Joseph), with 13 real case studies, EU AI Act- and GDPR-ready. A focused alternative to the large enterprise consultancies.
Most tools that call themselves an "energy management system" do one thing in practice: visualise. They collect meter readings, draw neat dashboards and show you after the fact where your consumption went. Useful as a starting point — but the dashboard itself changes nothing on your energy bill. Someone still has to read the chart, draw the conclusion and manually adjust a machine, a battery or a process, and that rarely happens at the right moment.
The real value is in automatic control. A genuine industrial EMS does not just measure, it acts: it shifts load to cheaper hours, charges and discharges a battery at the right time, shaves peaks before they hit your grid connection, and adjusts flexible processes to the live energy price. That is the jump from measuring to steering — and precisely the layer Crux Digits builds.
Is grid congestion driving your decision? See our hub on grid congestion for industry.
An industrial EMS is more than a dashboard. These are the functions that separate measuring from steering:
Metering at main and sub level: per department, line and machine you see where consumption really sits — the foundation every steering decision rests on.
Continuous monitoring of every relevant load, with pattern recognition that flags anomalies and creeping consumption before they show up on the bill.
Shifting flexible load to cheaper or greener hours and taking part in demand response automatically — without anyone having to intervene by hand.
Smart charging and discharging of battery storage and control of on-site generation (solar, CHP, standby genset) based on price, consumption and grid limits.
Cutting power peaks with battery, generation or process control, so you stay under your contract value and lower peak-based grid tariffs.
Optimising against day-ahead prices and the imbalance market: consuming, storing and feeding back at the moments that pay off most.
With grid congestion your connection is the hard limit. The EMS watches the connection value and steers load, so you never exceed your contract or transport cap.
Threshold rules ("switch off above 500 kW") get you part of the way, but they are blind to what happens next. AI adds foresight. By modelling your consumption, the weather forecast, your production schedule and energy prices, the system forecasts demand and price for the hours and days ahead — and takes the decision now that yields the lowest cost later.
In real time, the AI layer continuously optimises across several goals at once: keeping cost low, staying inside the grid connection, protecting battery health and keeping production undisturbed. It also learns your processes — which machines are flexible, which batches can be deferred, how your load responds — and gets better tuned to your plant week by week.
Crucially, we do not replace your installation. The AI layer integrates with what already runs — your SCADA, PLCs, energy meters and ERP — and steers through those existing systems. You keep your control technology, your safety logic and your operators; the AI adds the steering that is missing today.
Want to use battery storage to shave peaks? See peak shaving with energy storage.
We work in three fixed steps with transparent pricing — and you own all the code, models and documentation we deliver:
We map your loads, meters, grid connection and flexibility and calculate the projected saving and payback for each steering measure.
A working steering layer on your own data and one part of your installation, in weeks — with a measurable result on peak or cost.
A fully integrated EMS, connected to SCADA/PLC/meters, in production and maintained.
Fixed prices, no open-ended hourly rates. You own the code and models, and every build is checked against EU AI Act risk tiers and GDPR from the first line — compliance is built in, not bolted on.
Explore how operational AI for energy-intensive industry comes together:
An energy management system (EMS) for industry measures every relevant load — per department, line and machine — then automatically steers consumption, storage, generation and flexible processes. The goal is threefold: cut energy cost, avoid power peaks and stay within your grid connection. A real EMS is not limited to measuring and visualising; it takes and executes steering decisions.
A monitoring dashboard shows what happened; an EMS acts on what is happening. A dashboard shows charts and meter readings, but someone still has to draw the conclusion and intervene by hand. A full EMS with an AI steering layer shifts load itself, controls the battery and shaves peaks — automatically and at the right moment. In short: the dashboard measures, the EMS steers.
Yes. The AI steering layer is designed to integrate with your existing installation — SCADA, PLCs, energy meters and ERP — not to replace it. The system reads your metering and process data and steers through your existing control technology. Your safety logic and operators stay in charge; the AI adds the forward-looking steering that is missing today.
Yes. Battery and generation control and peak shaving are core functions. The system charges and discharges battery storage based on price, consumption and grid limits, and cuts power peaks with battery, on-site generation or process control — so you stay under your contract value and lower peak-based grid tariffs. See also our page on peak shaving and energy storage.
Crux Digits works in fixed steps rather than open hourly rates: €2,500 for an audit & strategy, €20,000 for a proof of concept on your own data, and from €50,000 for a fully integrated EMS in production (excl. VAT). The audit calculates the projected saving and payback for each steering measure, so you know the return before you commit. You own the code and models.
Crux Digits, based in the Utrecht region, is a small senior team that has built operational AI and custom software since 2022 at fixed prices (€2,500 audit / €20,000 proof of concept / from €50,000 production). We build the AI steering layer that automatically steers your energy, integrate with your existing SCADA/PLC/meters, work in Dutch and English, are EU AI Act- and GDPR-aware, and you own the code and IP.
Start with a free 30-minute consultation — tell us about your load, grid connection and processes, and we'll map the fastest route to an EMS that steers automatically.
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