The rationale for NeSSI originated from focus group meetings held in 1999 at the Center for Process Analytical Chemistry (CPAC) which called out for more reliable sampling and analysis for the manufacturing processes. Early work with NeSSI was started in July, 2000 by Peter van Vuuren (of ExxonMobil Chemical) and Rob Dubois (of Dow Chemical) with the initial aim of adopting new types of modular and miniature hardware which were being addressed in a standard being developed by an ISA (Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society) technical committee. (Reference 1)
The term NeSSI, along with the futuristic concepts of a communication/power bus specifically designed for process analytical (the NeSSI-bus) and fully automated sampling systems were first introduced outside of CPAC at a presentation given in January 2001 at the International Forum of Process Analytical Chemistry (IFPAC) at Amelia Island, Florida, USA. These new concepts were collected in the NeSSI Generation II Specification and released by CPAC in 2003 as an open publication. The specification is located on the CPAC website. (Reference 2)