- Based on preliminary estimates, Forge Plant Cognition could deliver more than $60 million in gross operational benefits at Dangote’s Lekki refinery at full capacity
- Physical AI platform combines deep industrial expertise and automation to unlock greater plant performance
CHARLOTTE, N.C., October 26, 2026 – Honeywell Technologies (NASDAQ: HON) has announced the launch of Forge Plant Cognition, an industrial AI platform built with NVIDIA AI and accelerated computing capabilities, and Dell Technologies’ AI infrastructure. The platform is designed to help refining, petrochemical and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) operators generate greater value from their existing assets and transform plant operations.
Launching first at Dangote’s petroleum refinery in Lekki, Nigeria – one of the world’s largest single-train refineries – the project is targeting an increase in throughput while strengthening the capabilities of its local engineering and operations teams. Based on preliminary data, Honeywell Technologies estimates that AI-enabled optimization with Forge Plant Cognition could deliver operational benefit[1]of more than 29 cents a barrel at the Lekki Refinery. At full-capacity throughput, this would generate more than $60 million in gross benefit per year for this specific facility.[2]
“Industrial plants are among the most complex operating environments in the world, with enormous potential to realize greater performance and value using digital technologies and connected solutions,” said Rajesh Gattupalli, President, Honeywell Technologies UOP. “By collaborating with Dangote to launch Forge Plant Cognition, we are demonstrating how AI can help transform industrial operations, driving new levels of productivity, reliability and profitability at significant scale.”
Built on Honeywell Technologies’ recently launched Forge Cognition platform, the new solution combines process technology expertise, industrial automation and AI capabilities to help operators identify performance constraints, anticipate problems and translate insights into actions that improve operational outcomes. Unlike conventional AI solutions that primarily analyze data and generate recommendations, Forge Plant Cognition is designed to move beyond simply monitoring and responding by combining real-time operating data, engineering knowledge and Honeywell Technologies UOP’s deep process expertise with trusted calculations and physics-based models.
Forge Plant Cognition is designed to help deliver value across three critical areas:
1. Capture hidden margin: Identify bottlenecks and help optimize throughput, yield and product value across interconnected processes.
2. Protect production: Detect emerging equipment and process issues, recommend corrective actions and help minimize unplanned downtime.
3. Scale industrial expertise: Embed specialized process knowledge into AI-powered workflows, helping operators and engineers make faster, more consistent decisions.
With more than a century of experience designing and operating refineries, Honeywell Technologies UOP has a deep understanding of how even the smallest changes in operating conditions can impact efficiency and throughput. Specialized AI capabilities are designed to use integrated intelligence based on this information to identify operational constraints and recommend actions to improve plant performance.
The platform is powered by Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA and supported by Dell Services. NVIDIA Nemotron open models power agents that understand and interpret operational data, while NVIDIA Omniverse libraries help create a digital twin of the plant and its processes for simulation-based training and planning. Additionally, NVIDIA Cosmos open models with the NVIDIA Metropolis VSS Blueprintenable vision AI agents for real-time alerts and detection of anomalies. NVIDIA PhysicsNemo framework is used for building, training, and fine-tuning efficient and performant physics AI models at scale to realize innovative digital twin integrated agile plant optimization workflows. These applications are running on NVIDIA RTX Pro 6000 and NVIDIA RTX Pro 4000.
Driving Expanded Value with Dangote
Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Nigeria, one of the world’s largest single-train refineries, will integrate its operating data with Honeywell Technologies’ process expertise and AI-powered optimization capabilities to help identify operational constraints, accelerate troubleshooting and enable more informed decisions.
“We chose Honeywell Technologies’ Forge Plant Cognition because the platform can deliver unrivaled industrial expertise combined with differentiated AI capabilities to help us optimize performance, unlock greater value from our operations and evolve how we operate our assets,” said David Bird, CEO and Managing Director, Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE. “This investment reinforces our commitment to operational excellence, advancing technology and developing Nigerian talent to operate at world-class standards.”
Beyond operational performance, Forge Plant Cognition will support Dangote’s commitment to developing a highly skilled local workforce. By embedding specialized process knowledge into AI-powered tools, the platform will help engineers and operators access expert guidance, accelerate problem-solving and build technical capabilities. As Dangote expands its workforce, these capabilities will support its goal of developing a workforce that is 70% Nigerian, reducing reliance on external expertise over time.
Building on nearly a decade of collaboration, the two companies recently announced that Honeywell Technologies is helping the refinery increase its capacity from 650,000 to 1.4 million barrels per day within three years, by optimizing existing assets and speeding up market delivery.
Honeywell Technologies is a global, pure-play automation company with a legacy of innovating to help solve the world’s most mission-critical challenges, enhancing the quality of life for people and communities around the world. We serve the building, industrial, and process sectors with a broad portfolio of services, solutions, and products, underpinned by our Honeywell Technologies Accelerator operating system and Honeywell Technologies Forge intelligence layer. By combining the deep domain expertise of our more than 50,000 employees with decades of data from our global installed base, we are uniquely positioned to lead the industrial sector’s transition from automation to autonomy. For more news and information on Honeywell Technologies, please visit Honeywell Technologies Newsroom.
This release contains certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements, including statements about the expected capabilities, deployment and performance of Forge Plant Cognition, the estimated gross operational benefit at Dangote’s Lekki refinery, and Dangote’s throughput and workforce targets. Such statements are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other relevant factors. They are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ significantly from those envisaged by our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update or revise any of our forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. Our forward-looking statements are also subject to material risks and uncertainties that can affect our performance in both the near- and long-term, which are identified in our Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
[1] Calculated gross of implementation costs.
[2] This estimate is not guaranteed and is specific to this facility. Gross operational benefit excludes the cost of implementing Forge Plant Cognition. Actual results will depend on refinery configuration, operating conditions, crude slate, utilization, baseline performance, data quality, product margins, and customer implementation.
