| | | Contents
- NAPnews - Edition 100
- Celebrating 65 Years of NAP
- Join the competition on the occasion of NAP’s 65th jubilee
- Networking Meeting – May 7, 2026
- SIG: Big Data
- Fresh start SIG Process Safety
- Professorial Considerations #8
- Process Safety Congres - May 13, 2026
- Follow us on LinkedIn
- Events Calendar
| | | | | We are pleased to send out the 100th edition of the NAP newsletter! Over the course of these editions, we have shared a great deal with you: from events and SIGs to new participants, inspiring interviews, developments in the field, and news from within the association. We are delighted to see that the newsletter is so well received and widely read.
In this edition, we would also like to draw your attention to a new development regarding event registration. Previously, you signed up by email, but you can now do so easily via the website. Have you seen it yet? Take the opportunity to register straight away for the next NAP contact meeting on 7 May, one of the Small Modular Reactors, or our jubilee conference on 19 November. | | | | Celebrating 65 Years of NAP | | | | On 19 November 2026, we will celebrate a special milestone at the NAP Jubilee Conference: 65 years of NAP. A moment to reflect on our shared history and look ahead to the future of the sector.
 In a rapidly changing world, connection is more important than ever. This afternoon and evening will bring together professionals from the process industry to exchange insights, inspire one another, and explore new collaborations.
Three speakers will share their perspectives on a changing world:
- Diederik Samsom will address geopolitical developments and their impact on Dutch and European industry.
- Hella Schmidt (dsm-firmenich) will discuss the implications of major transitions for people, organisations, and collaboration.
- Richard Braal (TNO) will translate global developments into technological innovations such as new energy systems and biotechnology.
Would you like to gain fresh insights, expand your network, and help shape the future of the process industry? Then be sure to register and join us in celebrating this special milestone. | | | | Join the competition on the occasion of NAP’s 65th jubilee | | | | Theme: Smart collaboration & innovation in a changing process industry
The Dutch process industry is currently facing a challenging period. Grid congestion, stringent environmental regulations, shifting customer demands, and the need for sustainability are placing increasing pressure on the existing system. At the same time, the landscape is evolving rapidly due to technological developments, geopolitical shifts, and changing societal expectations. There is a clear need for fresh ideas and new ways of working together. If you are actively addressing these challenges, this competition is for you.
To mark its 65th jubilee, NAP invites companies, knowledge institutions, students, and professionals to take part in a unique competition. Participants are asked to present concrete examples of solution pathways that not only respond to current challenges but also offer a forward-looking perspective for the future of the Dutch process industry. We encourage you to outline an innovative concept, product, service, or collaborative model that strengthens cooperation across the process industry value chain and, above all, inspires.
Please submit your entry, including a brief description, to NAP by 15 May. | | | | Networking Meeting – May 7, 2026 | | | | The fast-paced developments in today’s world are increasing the demand for sustainable and dependable energy solutions. Within the process industry, attention is steadily shifting towards innovative technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). These reactors not only produce electricity, but also open up possibilities for supplying process heat and supporting hydrogen production.
During the NAP Contact Meeting on 7 May 2026, we will take a closer look at what these developments could mean for your organisation and for the wider value chain. We are delighted to welcome two specialists who will share their knowledge and insights:
- Gertjan Dahm (Leading Professional at Royal HaskoningDHV) will provide an overview of the current SMR landscape, including developments to date, opportunities and challenges within the Netherlands, and the potential implications for the energy system and the process industry supply chain.
- Paul Glaubitz (Project Development Director at Thorizon) will zoom in on the technological side of SMRs. At Thorizon, efforts are focused on advancing next-generation nuclear energy through generation IV molten salt reactors. These concepts aim to tackle key limitations of existing systems by enabling the reuse of nuclear waste, delivering high-temperature heat for industrial use, and offering flexibility through modular design. Paul will explain how this technology could support a more sustainable and resilient energy future.
You can now register for this meeting, directly through our website.
| | | | This 100th edition of the newsletter marks an important milestone for the NAP network and highlights its continued relevance. In response, the NAP executive and program board have placed AI on the agenda. We are pleased to announce the revival of the Special Interest Group Big Data, expanded with an AI perspective focused on value creation across the process industry value chain. At the contact meeting on May 7, we will present the renewed setup of the SIG. | | | | Fresh start SIG Process Safety | | | | The Special Interest Group (SIG) Process Safety is being relaunched. This SIG brings together professionals from across the entire value chain to share knowledge and experiences on process safety, and to collaboratively improve safety within the process industry. Within the NAP network, the SIG provides a trusted environment where best practices are developed and current challenges are effectively addressed, with the shared ambition of achieving ‘goal zero’: no incidents and maximum protection of people, the environment, and assets.
Shaun Hopgood, Anne-Fleur Veenstra, Joost van den Ende and Gaby Brand will take the lead as chairs in this renewed phase of the SIG. They are pleased to introduce themselves and share their perspective on the importance of Process Safety in our work. Drawing on their expertise and experience, they highlight why process safety is an essential part of professional practice in the industry, and how collaboration across the value chain makes a real difference. | | | | Professorial Considerations #8 100, this is the hundredth edition of NAP News. It is the number of completeness in our mathematical world. In earlier, more mythical worlds it was 7, but by now the decimal system has caught up with us and 100 percent is simply complete. It is also an illustration of the grip we try to get on the world, of determinism, especially in projects: 100 is exactly full. “There is a target and we have to achieve the full one hundred percent.” And with that, it is also a nice reference to the theme we have chosen for my chair.
In the project world, the control perspective is very attractive. But already a couple of decades ago, the perspective on this began to shift, first more in the academic world and later also in training and tooling. It became increasingly clear that this deterministic view is actually not that helpful in predicting where the project will end up. We have calculated that it is 42* and that’s what it has to be. It turned out to be smarter to look at things probabilistically. So it became 42, plus 5 or minus 5. Or better still: with dispersion in a nice bell curve around 42.
In project practice, however, that insight proves to be rather fragile. It turns out to be a tricky combination: decision-making on the one hand and those analysis tools or expert judgment on the other. In a meeting about how a project is doing, 42 with a nice bell curve around it quickly becomes just 42 again for everyone involved. And if it later turns out to be 39, that is seen as a failure, even though according to the bell curve that would have been a very likely outcome. And since management is, at its core, a human activity, the figures that were softened by probabilistic thinking often quickly become hard again. | | | | | Process Safety Congres - May 13, 2026 | | | | On Wednesday, May 13, the national Process Safety Congress will take place in Dordrecht at the Van der Valk hotel for the 11th time. Technical safety specialists and managers from companies that operate processes involving hazardous chemicals will gather here to learn and network. This will be supported by keynote presentations on the serious accidents in Chernobyl and Amagasaki. See the interesting program at www.PScongres.nl, | | | | Would you like to learn more and stay up to date with the latest news? Visit our LinkedIn page for recent updates. Here, you can follow not only NAP, but als DACE!
| | | | Events Calendar This year’s networking meetings have been scheduled. Be sure to mark the dates in your calendar or register straight away. Click here for the full activities calendar.
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