How to respond to uncertainty for future process plant investment? The answer could be the freedom to respond on changed conditions. Uncertainty comes from the location (e.g. political changes), product lifecycles, innovation speed might generate a change in location, capacity, product innovation. Therefore, derisking investments and maintain their future value could also be a useful strategy.
A modular, flexible chemical plant is a plant constructed from standardized, prefabricated modules that can be easily added, removed, or rearranged to adapt to changing production needs. This approach contrasts with traditional “stick-built” construction by shortening project timelines, reducing on-site labor, and improving flexibility for producing different chemical variants or scaling capacity. Based on a ”switch-built” construction these modules often use USB-like technology for seamless automation integration
Other main drivers for modular, flexible chemical plants are cost savings through parallel, off-site construction, and operational flexibility to meet volatile market demand. Other drivers include faster project timelines, improved quality control due to factory-based fabrication, easier scalability and integration, and the ability to respond to shorter product lifecycles and diversified products.