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Chair of the chemical sector, adviser to start-ups and scale-ups, initiator of the world’s first offshore hydrogen production project, and much more. That is Jacqueline Vaessen. From an early age, she developed a passion for chemistry and went on to build a remarkable career in the sector. In this interview, she reflects on the importance of nurturing knowledge, giving young people a platform, and above all, pursuing what you truly enjoy.

Some time ago, during a joint interview with a younger woman working in the chemical industry, Jacqueline learned that she is regarded as a role model by many young women in the field. It brought a lump to my throat, she recalls. How did she come to be seen as a role model for the next generation? Her story provides the answer.

A passion for chemistry

Looking back on her life and career, Jacqueline says that her love for chemistry was always there, even if it was initially dormant. Her mother worked as a chemical laboratory technician at DSM’s central laboratory. As a little girl, I could spend hours looking at photos of her with Erlenmeyer flasks and burettes. I also had a book about Marie Curie. I must have read it ten times.

Yet her decision to study Chemical Engineering at ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø in 1983 was not an obvious one. Physics and mathematics had not been her strongest subjects in secondary school, and she struggled with choosing a degree program. I told my mother I would just do a year at Schoevers. She stopped me right there. She wanted me to aim higher. My physics tutor at the time suggested: why not study chemistry at a technical university? I laughed at the idea. I'd never even taken apart a moped, so what would I be doing in a technical environment? Once he explained that chemical engineering was something entirely different, I decided to look into it. Friends took me to Organon in Oss, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, and ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø. During a lecture on chemical bonding and spectroscopy, I thought: I can actually follow this! I graduated from secondary school and started at ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø.

Friendships for life

Although the first year of university was challenging and required considerable adjustment, Jacqueline eventually found her place within the faculty. I was eighteen, relatively young, a woman, and from Maastricht. There were only eight women in our year. Nevertheless, I made friendships in Eindhoven that have lasted a lifetime. My best friend today was one of my fellow students. It's such an important, formative period in life. You build deep connections and get to know one another intensely.

She also looks back fondly on the international experiences she gained during her studies. In 1987, she organized a study trip to China for the student association Japie and she got the chance to do an international internship at Shell in Texas.

Doubts

That year was truly a highlight. Yet I also had doubts: is this really it? Whenever we went on field trips, all we saw were men. Women were bringing presentation slides or serving coffee. I never saw a woman that had something to say. I wondered whether I would ever find a job in this sector. Wouldn't it be better to study business administration? Fortunately, my internship at Shell was eye-opening. I worked in the Process Engineering department, where half the staff and even the department head were women. So I realised: it is possible after all.

Jacqueline graduated with conducting research at Unilever. However, she quickly realized that a research career was not what she wanted. After graduation, she joined Shell’s production facility in Moerdijk. It was fantastic. A playground for a chemical engineer. After a while, I moved to Shell's headquarters in The Hague. There were only a handful of women there. In meetings, people would say, 'Good morning, Jacqueline, and gentlemen.' I didn’t thrive in that environment. My next role was supposed to be in engineering, and I told my manager that spending all day behind a computer doing calculations would make me unhappy. He replied that it would be good for my career. I handed in my resignation and decided that for the rest of my life I would not do what was good for my career, but what I actually enjoyed. And I've succeeded in doing exactly that.

Syntens and her own business

Jacqueline’s next step was Syntens, then known as the Innovation Centre of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. There she worked with technology entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized enterprises, helping them accelerate innovation. Later, she became office director and eventually regional director.
When I became regional director and found myself managing 65 people, it no longer suited me. I was no longer involved with the content itself. In 2004, I decided to start my own business.

In the years that followed, she focused on promoting technology education, particularly among primary school pupils, vocational restoration programs, and vocational secondary education (MBO). MBO education is seriously undervalued. Yet it produces the skilled professionals we depend on to make so many aspects of our daily lives possible.

Energy transition

From 2011 onward, Jacqueline became increasingly involved in projects related to the energy transition. She briefly entered politics, serving as a member of the Provincial Council of Utrecht between 2015 and 2018 and acting as spokesperson for economic affairs and energy. She stepped down when she became managing director of Nexstep.
Netstep was incredibly exciting. We focused on the reuse and decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure in the Netherlands. At the time, there were more than 150 offshore platforms, 600 wells, and 3000 kilometres of pipelines that needed to be dismantled. The total cost was estimated at €7 billion, and our task was to reduce that by 30 percent. We were also asked to investigate how much of this infrastructure could be reused to accelerate the energy transition.
The organization was unique. The Netherlands became the first country to establish a dedicated body for knowledge sharing on offshore decommissioning. Nextstep also together with TNO launched the world’s first offshore green hydrogen pilot project: PosHYdon, which officially produced hydrogen for the first time in July 2026.

After four and a half years at Nexstep, Jacqueline felt her work there was complete. I'm someone who likes to get a train moving, not the driver who keeps it running. She subsequently became the founding director and later interim managing director of NL Hydrogen, the Dutch hydrogen industry association.

Chemistry & materials sector board

Her passion for materials transition, innovation, and entrepreneurship eventually brought Jacqueline to ChemistryNL. She first served chair of the Dutch Chemistry Sector and is now chair of the Chemistry & Materials Sector Board.

ChemistryNL helps implement the industrial and innovation policies of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. Through the Dutch Top Sectors approach, businesses, universities, research institutes, and government collaborate to develop knowledge and innovation aimed at addressing global challenges in climate, food, health, circularity, and safety.

What I focus on today is finding answers to the question: how can we make the chemical industry more sustainable? What is the future of chemistry? Alternative feedstocks, biobased plastics, circular plastics, renewable raw materials, and COâ‚‚ as a feedstock are all possibilities. Incredible research and innovation are taking place in the Netherlands, including at ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø. What I want is to ensure that the technologies emerging from this work remain in the Netherlands.

Technological breakthroughs

She points out that the Netherlands has been an early leader in several technological breakthroughs, yet has often failed to capitalize on them commercially. We have made enormous strides in the energy transition. We are solar power pioneers, yet we buy most of our solar panels from China. The same is true for wind energy, hydrogen technologies, and electrolyzers. We have excellent universities and successful spin-offs, but too often we give away our knowledge. We are still not converting enough innovation into economic value. Companies struggle to survive while their technologies move abroad. That's such a shame, because it can be done.

According to Jacqueline, nurturing young companies is essential. We need to give new businesses the time they need to mature. Invest in them and support them. My mother worked at DSM when Dyneema, the ultra-strong synthetic fiber, was invented. It wasn't an overnight success either. Scaling up takes time.

She also believes universities should place greater emphasis on entrepreneurship alongside academic publishing. We need to encourage entrepreneurship to ensure that university-developed technologies are truly translated into societal and economic value.

Putting the younger generation first

A woman with a clear message and decades of experience, Jacqueline is determined to turn her words into action by supporting others, especially young professionals. She actively gives young people a platform by inviting them to participate in panels and appointing them as conference moderators.
Last year, she participated in a double interview with someone thirty years her junior. We talked about what it was like for me to study back then and what it is like for her today. She said: 'You are a role model for us. Because we see you on all those stages, and we say: if we can see her, we can be her.' It brought a lump to my throat. I realized that I have a responsibility. I can give them the opportunity to become what I became.

Although she acknowledges that women may still face additional barriers, her ambitions extend beyond gender. I want to create opportunities for all young people to achieve great things in this sector. That's what I want to dedicate the coming years to: giving young people in chemistry a platform and passing the baton to the next generation. Onwards to a brighter future.