Non-conventional energy sources, such as microwave, plasma, ultrasound and laser, as well as electrochemical and photochemical processes, have already been applied in process intensification, mainly at lab scale, showing significant improvements in process performance (e.g. improved selectivity, crystal nucleation, reaction speed easing raw material demand) for the benefit of energy efficiency. The processes powered by non-conventional energy sources are suitable for connection to the electricity grid. They allow variable throughputs to better follow market demand and enable leaner production paradigms (e.g. decreased stock, production on demand). Such technologies are suitable for downscaling and continuous processing, where they can also be coupled with real time monitoring allowing a finer control of the transformations.