Process industry plants have to be operated for a long time to make their operations viable. They include equipment such as furnaces, reactors, raw materials handling and storage systems which sometimes have a lifetime beyond 30 years. Keeping these facilities up to date from a technological and from regulatory point of view (for instance related to zero waste regulations and to the circular economy) is a major challenge. Even industrial plants which are less than 10 years old, are often not equipped for new or renewable (e.g. biomass) materials and alternative or renewable energy input streams. More generally, this increased variety of inputs along with the need for energy efficiency improvements poses a real challenge and requires technological breakthroughs in the process industry.