Fozieh Morovat, Director of Strategy and Product Development Infrastructure at PGPIC, said Petrofan has grown into a major national platform dedicated to deepening technology and innovation across the petrochemical industry. She noted that PGPIC has firmly committed itself to a long-term technological transformation that began six years ago, adding: “With the participation of knowledge-based and innovative companies, we are progressing steadily and expect new innovative ideas emerging from Petrofan to reshape the face of the petrochemical industry.”
Morovat highlighted that the Petrochemical Industry Innovation Award remains a central component of the event, aiming to institutionalize innovation culture within organizations and enhance collaboration between specialists and industry experts.
She stressed that sharing scientific and technological knowledge is one of the event’s primary goals, particularly in a period of sanctions and constraints. “A key objective is to promote domestic manufacturing so that, even under sanctions, we can empower local industries through homegrown knowledge,” she said.
According to Morovat, Petrofan previously focused on five main themes, but this year digital transformation and emerging technologies have been added, expanding the event’s core topics to seven. These additions will allow experts to identify industry challenges more precisely and develop targeted solutions.
She noted that the two new domains—digitalization and advanced technologies—represent challenges widely shared by industrial companies: “Digital transformation is crucial in today’s world, and modern technologies can be the remedy for industries navigating sanctions and restrictions. Both areas are of critical importance.”
Morovat emphasized the need to build bridges between industrial companies and innovation units to localize technical knowledge, enhance equipment control, develop catalysts, and reduce dependence on foreign sources.
She described Petrofan as the country’s largest platform for presenting the technological needs of a major industrial sector. Significant achievements have already been recorded, including the signing of 1.7 trillion rials in contracts with knowledge-based and innovative companies to address technological requirements.
Despite this progress, she noted that many subsidiaries still lack sufficient familiarity with digital transformation and advanced technologies. “We have long been accustomed to relying on foreign standards in petrochemicals. To move beyond this phase, we must create a functional bridge between industry and innovators,” she said.
Emadeddin Fatemizadeh, Head of the Secretariat for the Development and Commercialization of Artificial Intelligence at the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, underscored the growing significance of AI across global industries. He noted that while the foundations of AI can be traced back to the 1970s and a major slowdown occurred in the 1990s—known as AI’s “winter”—the field underwent a major revival after 2012, often referred to as the AI Renaissance.
Fatemizadeh said the growth of data volume and demand for data-driven systems has accelerated global investment. In 2024 alone, private-sector AI investment in the United States reached $109 billion, while global investment totaled $285 billion.
He emphasized that AI should not be underestimated. Quoting Sam Altman, he noted: “AI will not replace humans—it will replace managers and professionals who lack the ability to use AI.”
In the petrochemical sector, he highlighted the critical role of AI in improving productivity, enhancing product quality, predicting processes, optimizing energy consumption, monitoring equipment performance, and strengthening supply chains.
Fatemizadeh warned that without the commitment of IT managers, AI penetration across organizations will remain limited, ultimately leading to lost market opportunities. He also emphasized the growing number of AI startups globally, noting that data infrastructure remains a critical priority: “Technology managers must recognize the central importance of data. Collecting and delivering accurate data is essential for industrial advancement.”
He concluded by stressing that the role of AI in petrochemicals and knowledge-based companies is expanding rapidly, and the current priority is to accelerate AI adoption in practical industrial applications.