… by Aashutosh Aggarwal, CEO, Simon India
India’s industrial ambition is palpable. The national agenda, underscored by significant government capital expenditure in infrastructure, has set the stage for a decade of transformative growth. For those of us in the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) sector, this is a call to action. However, fulfilling this vision requires a profound shift in our role. The era of the EPC firm as a mere contractor, executing a fixed blueprint, is over. The complexity of today’s projects—from green energy ecosystems to advanced petrochemical facilities—demands a new breed of partner: one that integrates deep domain expertise with digital innovation to deliver not just projects, but holistic, future-ready industrial assets.
From Static Proposals to Digital Ecosystems
The most significant evolution in the EPC landscape is the digital transformation of our core processes. For too long, our industry has relied on static, paper-based workflows that create information silos and limit client engagement. At Simon India, we are challenging this legacy. Our ‘Simon India 2.0’ strategy is about embedding technology into the very fabric of project delivery, transforming how we design, collaborate, and execute.
A prime example of this is our approach to project proposals. Instead of a dense, multi-hundred-page PDF, imagine providing a client with a living, interactive, AI-generated digital proposal. This is precisely what we have built with our platform for a 3,000 MTPD Sulphuric Acid Plant. It is not a website; it is a complete L-EPC (Licensor-EPC) proposal delivered as a dynamic web experience. It contains 21 interactive sections, allowing the client to delve into everything from the DCDA process flow and 3D plant models to interactive cost-sensitivity analysis and battery-limit adjustments that show real-time cost impacts. This tool, which details everything down to engineering manhour estimates and an interactive supplier sourcing map, fundamentally changes the client-EPC relationship. It fosters transparency, facilitates collaborative decision-making, and turns the proposal process from a static transaction into a dynamic, data-driven dialogue.
This platform is just one component of our broader digital ecosystem. It is powered by the same intelligence that drives Proton SI, our proprietary AI-powered project control tower. Proton acts as the “air-traffic controller” for our projects, providing real-time visibility and predictive insights into schedules, costs, and risks. It integrates seamlessly with Connect (connect.simonindia.ai), our collaboration platform that ensures all stakeholders—from our engineering teams to clients and global technology partners—are perfectly aligned. This digital-first approach is no longer a luxury; it is the essential bedrock for delivering the complex industrial projects India needs.
Mastering the Complexity of the Energy Transition
Nowhere is this need for evolved EPC expertise more critical than in the energy transition. Government initiatives like the National Green Hydrogen Mission have set ambitious targets but achieving them is a formidable engineering challenge. It’s not enough to simply install electrolyzers; it requires the seamless integration of variable renewable power sources, sophisticated power electronics, water purification systems, nitrogen generators, and complex ammonia synthesis loops. This is a full value-chain integration challenge.
As an EPC partner with deep roots in the fertiliser and chemicals sectors through our parent, the Adventz Group, we understand the intricacies of handling hydrogen and synthesising ammonia. Our role is to engineer solutions that bridge the commercial viability gap. Today, green hydrogen costs nearly double that of grey hydrogen. Closing this gap involves a multi-pronged engineering effort: designing hybrid renewable power systems for higher plant load factors, optimising waste heat recovery, ensuring the highest standards of process safety, and leveraging our digital twin capabilities to model and de-risk plant operations before a single piece of steel is erected. Our recent MoU with IIT Bombay is aimed directly at this, seeking to accelerate the commercialisation of next-gen technologies that will make green energy projects more efficient and bankable.
Deep Domain Expertise in Core Industrial Sectors
While the energy transition is the future, strengthening India’s core industrial base in sectors like petrochemicals remains a vital national priority. The government’s push for new Chemical Parks and PCPIRs creates immense opportunities, but these are not simple construction jobs. These projects involve hazardous materials, high pressures, and complex catalytic processes that demand decades of specialised experience.
This is where our 30-year track record in delivering complex chemical, fertiliser, and refinery projects becomes crucial. An EPC partner must understand the nuances of material selection for corrosive services, the intricacies of process safety management, and the logistics of procuring and fabricating large, specialised equipment. Our state-of-the-art fabrication facility, Sparkon Engineers, and our team of subject matter experts—with hundreds of years of cumulative experience—provide the deep domain knowledge necessary to execute these projects safely and successfully. It is this combination of hands-on experience and digital foresight that allows us to deliver the reliability and performance that our clients in these critical sectors demand.
Ultimately, the EPC firm of 2026 and beyond must be a true transformation partner. Our mandate is to look beyond the immediate blueprint and deliver solutions that are smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable. By integrating deep engineering expertise with a powerful digital core, we can move beyond simply building projects to architecting the very future of Indian industry.
