Hazardex – the only global, dedicated media for those concerned with protecting personnel, process & plant in all high hazard settings.

Hazardex Live 2026 is taking place at the Majestic Hotel, Harrogate, UK on 25-26 February 2026

The Event, Conference, & Awards - sponsored by DNV, C&P Engineering, Mutech and CEF - involves a varied and quality conference programme focused on hazardous area operations and process safety, bringing operators, legislators, consultants service providers & vendors together to review legislation, best practices, and stay up-to-date with the latest research.

For almost three decades, Hazardex Live has been the ideal platform for sharing key industry information and topical discussion on process safety-related topics. The event brings together those with hazardous area and wider safety responsibilities to review best practice and the latest research in areas key to managing process safety effectively.

Hazardex Live 2026 Conference:



Day 1 - Stream 1

Global competence: how do we create internationally relevant and credible assessments?
Huw Bement, Managing Director – CompEx

Trials and tribulations of hazardous area inspections – what happens after the report
Dewi Evans, Hazardous Area Operations Manager – C&P Engineering Services

Developing a safe and skilled energy workforce
Stephen Marcos Jones, CEO – OPITO

Moving from OG86 to ISA/IEC 62443 – a change in regulatory benchmark
Chris Buttrick, Principal Specialist Inspector – Health & Safety Executive

Emerging issues for internal hazards in the nuclear industry
Joe Nithsdale, Nuclear Safety Inspector – Office for Nuclear Regulation

The leadership perspective - why do we need a renewed focus on the PSLG principles?
Peter Davidson, Executive Director – Tank Storage Association

Offshore process safety insights
Dr. Edwin Bailey, former Ithaca Energy Process Safety/Technical Safety Team Lead

Streamline HazLoc approvals in key international markets
Julia Gresser, Team Lead Global Market Access, Europe – CSA Group

Humans hallucinate too! Engineering judgement, competence, confidence and AI
Harvey Dearden, Engineering Director – HTS Engineering Group

What the major changes to Edition 6 of BS EN 60079-14 mean for Ex d cables and cable glands
Jon Hichens, Training & Operations Director – insightEx

Usage of IEC TS 60079-46 and the ignition hazard assessment for assemblies
Christian Roder, Senior Explosion Protection Engineer – Nemko

Low frequency does not equal tolerable risk: anticipating thunderstorm hazards in industrial and ATEX/DSEAR environments
Stephane Schmitt, Lightning Application Expert – Meteorage


Day 1 - Stream 2 - Sponsored by DNV

UK Energy Transition Outlook
Sam Jones, Market Manager, Project Assurance – DNV

Scaling up hydrogen across Scotland
Sally Molyneux, Business Manager – Hydrogen Scotland

Managing the hazards of low carbon fuels/feedstock
James Steven, Business Development & Growth Manager – DNV

“Flying in the cold” - Liquid H2 safety
Mark Eldridge, Director of Hydrogen – Element Materials Technology

Design for DSEAR compliance
Graham Doggett, Technical Director – ECFIO

Assurance in the digital age
Dr. Chris Bell, Principal Consultant, Digital Energy – DNV

Non Ex certified quadruped robot for hazardous areas
Anette Jacobsen, Project Leader – Equinor

Biomethane: how to proactively increase intake
Will Osborn, Senior Consultant, Digital Energy – DNV

The role of digital tools in reducing risk and error in Ex inspections
Allan Merritt, CEO & Claire Murray, Head of Business Development – Arnlea Systems

Digital dry deluge testing: an innovative approach to fire deluge compliance
Loic Gauilard, Technical Director – Paradigm

Common issues with non-electrical ignition hazard assessment
Anastasia Tsampazaglou, Senior E&I Engineer – DNV


Day 2 - Stream 1

An update on IECEx activities and certification tools
Chris Agius, Executive Secretary – IECEx

Asset integrity failings in process safety events
Richard Hellebrand, Board Member of IMechE Process Industries Division – Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Rethinking priorities in Functional Safety: A management and assessment-centric approach
Tino Vande Capelle, Senior Functional Safety Expert & Trainer – TVC Functional Safety Services

Methane to mixtures: shaping hazardous area classification in a low-carbon future
Dr. Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown, Managing Consultant – ERM

Achieving control over the risk of electrostatic discharges
Ethan Hodge, Applications Specialist – Newson Gale

Ex products & cyber threats: a potentially explosive mixture
Andy Smith, General Manager – Element Materials Technology

How to develop an AI adept process safety mindset
Angus Keddie, Director – Process Safety Matters

Enhancing safety in road tanker loading and offloading
Alex Brady, Associate Director – Carbis Loadtec

Can real-time scoring of Ex departures be effectively and safely adopted for hazardous area inspections?
Peter Lee Williams, Ex Advisor


Day 2 - Stream 2 - Sponsored by DNV

Building confidence in new technology or methods
Ali Bahtui, Principal Engineer, Project Assurance – DNV

Enabling innovation in high-hazard industries: improving efficiency, cost and emissions
Mohamad Kantar, Managing Director – Kantar Advisory Partners

Improving plant performance with agentic AI
Tim Highfield, CEO – Kondor

Early-stage R&D for circular waste-to-value technologies: challenges, learnings, and next steps
Jaymish Patel, CEO – Biofuel Evolution

From experiment to prevention: explosion risk and process safety
Mike Johnson, VP Senior Principal Consultant – DNV

Moving from compliance driven safety to intelligence driven risk management
William Cowdroy, Consulting Director – ERM

Meet the experts session
Q&A opportunity with Stream 2 speakers



For further details about our events please contact us via hazardex@imlgroup.co.uk or call +44 (0) 1732 778544.

NOTE: Please ignore any approaches/emails from data brokers claiming to have attendee lists for these events as they are not authorised. Hazardex does not release this data to any such companies, only to exhibitors and following GDPR. Therefore the only way to access this data is via the Hazardex team.