S3E06 - How Agentic AI Runs Chemical Plants & Processes - And how to get your AI workflow going

What happens when an AI doesn't just suggest plant adjustments on a screen, but actually turns the physical valves?In this deep dive, we explore how Agentic AI is fundamentally transforming plant operations, research and development, and supply chains—tackling an estimated $50 billion annual productivity drain across the chemical sector. We break down the shift from standard generative AI (the "cookbook") to autonomous agentic systems (the "executive chef"), examine real-world builds using Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, and discuss how tools like SHAP values keep the human engineer in control as the "orchestra conductor."Plus, we look at the rise of Self-Driving Labs that accelerate molecular discovery by 80%, open-source plant data sets (TEP, NO-BOOM, INPENSIM), and the future vision of Industrial Symbiosis—where plant AIs autonomously trade waste steam across regional ecosystems.