Exergy is transforming the chemical industry by combining the power of artificial intelligence to optimize processes, improve efficiency, and reduce environmental impact. Its innovative solutions enable chemical companies to break free from outdated, siloed software systems and make real-time data-driven decisions, unlocking new growth and sustainability opportunities. Exergy bridges the gap between legacy operations and future technologies, providing tools that empower engineers and managers to visualize, simulate, and optimize complex processes like never before. Jose Trigueros, co-founder, answers our questions.
The AI Pitch Competition
The AI Pitch Competition is a Brabant initiative aimed at showcasing the most innovative AI solutions and allowing startups to present their ideas, connect with industry leaders, and accelerate their growth. The competition is taking place again this year. Eleven ambitious AI startups have been selected. The finale will be held on November 7, 2024.
1. What specific AI technology or algorithm is at the core of your solution, and how does it differentiate from existing approaches in the industry?
“Our solution is built on a hybrid modeling framework, combining AI-driven machine learning algorithms (such as neural networks and PCA) with traditional chemical engineering models like thermodynamics and chemical kinetics. This integration allows for real-time decision-making and process optimization, going beyond the capabilities of traditional software. Unlike existing systems, our AI continuously learns from live data streams, ensuring greater accuracy and adaptability in predicting outcomes, optimizing resource use, and minimizing downtime.”
2. How scalable is your AI solution, and what are the primary challenges you anticipate in bringing it to a global or large-scale market?
“Our AI solution is highly scalable due to its cloud-based architecture and modular design, making it adaptable across different chemical processes and plant sizes. It integrates seamlessly with existing IoT systems for real-time data acquisition. The primary challenges for scaling globally include navigating regional data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR) and adapting the software to meet specific local operational standards. By partnering with local organizations and adopting a flexible, modular system, we plan to mitigate these hurdles and expand rapidly.”
3. How does your startup address ethical concerns about bias, fairness, or transparency in AI decision-making? Can you provide an example of how you mitigate such risks?
“We address ethical concerns by ensuring algorithm transparency and actively auditing our models to avoid biases in decision-making. Our system is built on explainable AI principles, ensuring that users can understand the rationale behind AI-driven recommendations. For example, in optimizing plant operations, we balance environmental impact and operational costs to avoid disproportionately benefiting one area at the expense of sustainability. Regular bias testing and stakeholder input are crucial to maintaining fairness and transparency.”
4. In what ways do you believe your AI solution can positively impact society? Do you foresee any unintended societal risks or challenges, and do you prepare to handle them?
“Our AI solution helps chemical companies significantly reduce their environmental footprint by optimizing energy usage and minimizing waste, contributing to global sustainability goals. While automation may impact certain jobs, our goal is to augment human decision-making rather than replace it. We foresee potential challenges related to job displacement and are preparing to offer training and education programs to help workers transition into roles that involve more human-AI collaboration.”
5. What has been the biggest hurdle in launching your AI startup, and how did you overcome it? How has the current AI landscape shaped your business model and growth strategy?
“The biggest challenge we faced was convincing a traditionally conservative and risk-averse industry to adopt AI-driven solutions. We overcame this through a successful proof of concept, where we helped a chemical plant save €50,000 per year by optimizing their batch process using our software. Demonstrating real value through pilot projects allowed us to build trust and gain traction with early adopters. The evolving AI landscape has driven us to focus on regulatory compliance and explainable AI, aligning with chemical manufacturers’ needs.”
6. How do you prepare for the increasing regulatory frameworks around AI, such as GDPR, AI Act, or other data privacy laws? How does this impact your innovation and development process?
“We are preparing for AI regulations like GDPR and the EU AI Act by embedding privacy-by-design principles and ensuring our models maintain data anonymity and traceability. Our development process is heavily influenced by these regulations, pushing us to design compliant and flexible systems. This regulatory focus ensures that our technology can be safely deployed across multiple regions without legal complications, enhancing customer trust.”
7. How do you see your technology evolving over the next 5 to 10 years, and what role do you expect your company to play in shaping the future of AI?
“Over the next 5 to 10 years, we aim to evolve our platform into a global AI-driven standard for optimizing chemical processes, from energy use to sustainability compliance. We foresee our solution incorporating more advanced AI technologies and expanding beyond the chemical industry into pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and other sectors. Our vision is to lead the industry in AI-driven operational efficiency, enabling companies to meet their net-zero emissions targets while enhancing competitiveness.”
8. Why are you going to win the AI Pitch Competition?
“We will win this competition because our solution addresses an urgent need in the chemical industry: the need for real-time, data-driven process optimization. Our hybrid model has already proven its value, delivering significant cost savings and improving sustainability outcomes. With industry partnerships, a clear path to market, and a focus on regulatory compliance, we are well-positioned to scale and disrupt the status quo.”
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