Specialty chemicals manufacturer Lubrizol is building digital infrastructure that connects AI modeling and cloud computing to its research and development processes, according to Girish Rao, the company’s vice president of information technology.
The system combines technical data with cloud-based modeling tools, allowing researchers to test hypotheses and evaluate formulations digitally before conducting physical experiments. Data scientists work alongside chemists and engineers to identify patterns and model possibilities. “It’s not about replacing scientific judgment; it is about giving our scientists better tools,” Rao said.
Lubrizol organizes scientists, data scientists and IT teams into “fusion teams” to align different priorities around shared objectives. These groups start with small pilots to build trust. “Once the trust is built between the team members and they know what value they’re about to create, things go a lot better,” Rao said.
The cloud infrastructure provides computing resources and modern tools without requiring the company to build and maintain its own data centers. Rao said these capabilities could prove valuable for sustainability work, where digital modeling can help researchers evaluate more formulations, explore materials such as starch and corn-based alternatives, and assess trade-offs across a product’s life cycle.
Scaling promising laboratory materials to production while meeting performance, regulatory and financial requirements remains challenging, but Rao said AI’s ability to model multiple variables could help teams navigate those competing demands.