Why AVEVA Process Simulation is the go-to process simulation platform for EPCs

Posted: March 20, 2026

Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies are under more pressure than ever. Projects are more complex and margins are tighter, while workforce changes and geopolitical uncertainty are constant. Add the rapid growth of renewables and hydrogen projects to the mix, and the need for sustainability, full digital transparency and a smarter approach to process design become obvious.

This is where AVEVA™ Process Simulation (APS) stands out.

Designed as a next-generation, integrated process simulation platform, APS helps EPCs reduce project risk, control costs, accelerate execution, and deliver higher-quality digital twins—from conceptual design through to operations.

EPC challenges in 2026: Why legacy process simulators fall short

Today’s EPC leaders face several critical challenges:

• Deliver differentiated value in a competitive marketplace
• Reduce inefficiencies in construction and engineering workflows
• Ensure data quality and consistency across disciplines
• Provide real-time digital communication to owner-operators
• Integrate industrial AI while protecting data security

Traditional process simulators—often used as standalone tools—cannot keep pace with this environment. They create data silos, require manual transfers between tools, and introduce risk through disconnected workflows.

APS was built to solve exactly this problem.

One simulation across the entire project life cycle

Unlike legacy tools, APS enables EPCs to use a single model across the entire plant life cycle: Conceptual design, FEED, detailed engineering, dynamic studies and operational optimization.

Engineers can switch seamlessly between steady-state design, pressure-driven rating and full dynamic simulation. This eliminates the need to rebuild models in different tools and significantly reduces rework. For EPCs, this means faster case comparisons, more accurate equipment sizing, improved controllability studies, better CapEx and OpEx estimation and reduced commissioning risk.

A true digital twin—Not just a simulation

APS is a foundational element of AVEVA™ Unified Engineering, enabling fully integrated, data-centric project execution.

Instead of process data living in spreadsheets, emails, and disconnected files, APS connects directly to the engineering database. Heat and material balances, P&IDs, datasheets, 3D models, instrumentation and control strategies remain aligned throughout the project.

This enables:

• Bidirectional data flow between simulation and engineering
• Real-time validation of changes
• Concurrent multidiscipline collaboration
• Reduced project setup time
• Higher data consistency and quality

For EPCs, this shift from document-based to data-centric engineering is transformational. It reduces risk, avoids late-stage surprises, and improves client confidence.

Built for complex and emerging projects

EPC firms don’t specialize in just one type of plant. Their portfolios span oil and gas processing facilities, petrochemical complexes, refineries, LNG liquefaction/regasification, power generation, utilities networks, chemical plants, as well as hydrogen, Power-to-X, carbon capture and emerging/hybrid energy systems.

APS is built to handle this full spectrum of complexity. With its open model-writing framework, equation-oriented solver, and Python scripting capabilities, EPC engineers can customize unit operations, create proprietary models, integrate AI/ML models, protect intellectual property and solve challenging convergence problems.

This flexibility is critical for EPCs developing differentiated technologies.

How Babcock & Wilcox uses APS to design a novel hydrogen facility

A strong example of APS value in the EPC space comes from Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), a global energy and environmental technology provider headquartered in Akron, Ohio.

B&W used APS to design and validate its BrightLoop™ chemical looping hydrogen production technology, including at the Massillon commercial hydrogen facility.

Historically, B&W relied on multiple tools, such as Excel workbooks with VBA and legacy process simulators. This fragmented approach made it difficult to maintain model consistency, handle complex reactor and solids behavior, run dynamic studies and integrate with engineering tools.

After adopting APS, B&W managed to consolidate the entire process into a single simulation platform, improve their heat recovery system model, build custom conversion reactors and pressure-drop sub-models, model gas and solids phases separately, add detailed sensors and control logic, as well as run simulations in steady-state, fluid flow, and dynamic modes.

They conducted dynamic startup simulations to evaluate valve positions, back pressures, bypass settings, ambient temperature impacts and start-up time optimization.

B&W reported several key advantages:

• Seamless transition from initial design to dynamic operation
• Ability to customize and create new unit operations within the same tool
• Realistic multi-load performance predictions
• Improved control philosophy design
• Reduced reliance on legacy tools
• Integration with AVEVA Engineering

In short, APS enabled B&W to design, validate and optimize a highly innovative hydrogen process while reducing risk and improving engineering efficiency.

For EPCs developing next-generation energy systems, this kind of flexibility is invaluable.

Conclusion: Reducing risk and controlling costs

Process simulation is no longer just about generating heat and material balances. For EPCs, it is about de-risking startup, preventing late-stage design changes, ensuring data integrity, accelerating engineering hours and supporting digital twin delivery to clients.

By enabling one simulation model across design and operations, APS allows EPCs to predict problems before they occur, validate control strategies before commissioning, optimize energy integration, improve collaboration across disciplines and deliver higher confidence designs.

Why APS is the go-to software platform for EPCs

EPC leaders need more than just a simulator. They need a unified engineering backbone, a life-cycle digital twin, sustainability and cost transparency, open customization for emerging technologies and seamless integration with engineering and operations.

AVEVA Process Simulation delivers all of this in a single, integrated platform.

In an industry where complexity is rising and margins are tightening, APS enables EPCs to work smarter, reduce risk, and design sustainable plants at the speed of the market.

For EPCs looking to differentiate, modernize workflows, and confidently deliver the next generation of energy and process projects, APS is no longer optional; it is foundational.

If you want to learn more about how AVEVA Process Simulation helped Babcock & Wilcox design and test a chemical looping system for hydrogen production, you can attend the on-demand webinar here.