Through advanced research, new opportunities for the building materials sector will be explored, aiming to find solutions to some of the most pressing challenges the industry faces.
This collaboration began through Titan’s participation in the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute, a research center at the University of California with a mission to develop digital solutions that bring social and economic benefits to all.
The two parties will jointly undertake digital research initiatives designed to develop prototype models with potential for scaling and transformative impact across the entire industrial sector. The collaboration aims to create new, widely accessible knowledge that will benefit the broader research and innovation ecosystem while having direct applications in the building materials sector. By combining Titan’s expertise with UC Berkeley’s world-class academic and research capabilities, this partnership builds a strong bridge between academia and industry, promoting the development of cutting-edge digital solutions.
The initial phase of the joint research effort, which began on September 1, 2025, focuses on further developing “digital twin” technology for cement plants—a form of Artificial Intelligence that creates virtual models of processes, systems, or even entire plants, with the goal of simulating and optimizing their operations.
Digital twins allow the industry to increase factory efficiency, make faster and smarter decisions, boost productivity and product quality, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and improve worker safety. In this first phase, the collaboration will focus on developing models to optimize specific stages of the cement production process and solutions to enhance equipment reliability. Advanced data science techniques will be applied for AI algorithms and simulated models of integrated industrial processes.
Commenting on the collaboration, Titan Group’s Director of Strategy and Digital Transformation, Antonis Kyrkos, said:
“At Titan, we have always experimented with digital innovation, designing, testing, and implementing revolutionary digital solutions at an industrial scale that transform the way we produce and bring our products to market. We strongly believe that collaboration unlocks new opportunities and drives progress, and at Titan, we have a successful model for leveraging academic partnerships in this direction. Our collaboration with UC Berkeley and CITRIS will equip us to push the limits of AI technologies and open new pathways for both the industrial sector and the research ecosystem.”
Alexander Bayen, Director of CITRIS, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, and Liao-Cho Chairholder, noted:
“We are very excited about this collaboration with Titan Group. CITRIS’s scientific team looks forward to developing digital twins for the cement production process—an innovative application for our research staff, which will ultimately benefit society by making the production process of such an important industry more efficient and safer.”
Costas Spanos, Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley and Andrew S. Grove Chairholder, added:
“We are delighted to begin our collaboration with Titan Group, hoping that this will mark the start of a series of initiatives promoting the use of digital innovation in industry and contributing to the transformation of the building materials sector.”
