Most complex industrial facilities operate below their true potential, even those running advanced control systems. ORTOmation, which has joined IDAIC as a new member, is tackling that problem with a novel approach to real-time optimisation it believes can be as widely deployed as PID control.
Founded in 2021, the company has developed ORTO, a proprietary software built around a deterministic, model-free algorithm deployed through self-learning autonomous agents. Because ORTO requires no process model, it can be built and commissioned quickly, with significantly lower initial and ongoing maintenance costs than conventional model-based optimisation and newer neural net-based solutions.
Each ORTO agent continuously adjusts a single manipulated variable to drive a defined objective, such as minimising energy consumption per unit of output or maximising power from renewable generation assets. Multiple agents work collectively within a single optimisation scheme.
“ORTOmation has developed a novel, self-learning realtime optimiser targeted at process manufacturing. It is model free and is easier to implement than other solutions. The cost of ownership is lower. Our goals in participating in IDAIC are to: identify use cases for our solution;solve those use cases; and understand the need for future capabilities.”
Ortomation completed a proof of concept with a major energy company in 2022, released its MVP in August 2023 and passed independent performance verification in October 2023. It has conducted multiple trials across sectors.
Target applications include oil and gas production, oil refining and petrochemical plants, chemicals plants, renewable power generation, pharmaceutical manufacturing, food and beverage processing, and carbon capture utilisation and storage facilities.