In this presentation we first give an overview of the state of the process industry and identify a number of major challenges that are faced by the industry. We then describe some major trends in Process Systems Engineering and focus on three major areas of research that can potentially help the industry to innovate and to remain competitive. We first describe some of the efforts for simultaneous product and process design, where the emphasis lies in tying the molecular structure of the products with the processing and macroscopic properties of the product. We then describe some of the work that is aimed at modeling and optimizing processes for supplying alternative energy sources such as biomass, as well as managing natural resources such as water more efficiently. Finally, we describe research efforts in enterprise-wide optimization that are aimed at integrating more effectively planning, scheduling and control in the supply chains for the process industry.