Advanced materials: Research for safety over the lifecycle

Advanced materials hold the potential to address global and societal challenges in e.g. health care, energy transition and substituting substances of concern or critical raw materials. However, to fully exploit societal benefits of advanced materials, their safety for man and the environment as well as sustainability over the whole life cycle is of central relevance. This includes to avoid or mitigate potential adverse impacts related to the production, use and end of life of advanced materials in a timely manner. In response to the European Commission’s communication on ‘Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership’, the German Environment Agency (⁠UBA), the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (⁠BfR⁠), the National Metrology Institute (PTB) have published a strategic agenda for research in the field ofsafe advanced materials.

Considering that material innovations are funded with the objective to provide safer and more sustainable solutions compared to conventional chemicals and applications, it has to be ensured that the materials themselves are safe. However, safety research usually lags behind innovation. Therefore, the German federal authorities responsible for human and environmental safety, and metrology are accompanying the rapid pace of innovation of advanced materials with a long-term research strategy focusing on research needs from a regulatory perspective. 

The strategy aims to guide and prioritise the German federal authorities’ research, but also intends to inform policy makers, funding bodies and the scientific community on regulatory relevant research needs for safe advanced materials. The presented strategy provides an agenda to safety research supporting Regulatory Preparedness for regulators and “Safe and Sustainable by Design” (SSbD) for innovators. 

Areas covered by the strategy include:

• horizon scanning and early warning system activities to identify relevant advanced materials and their applications, knowledge gaps and signals of concern,
• research to close knowledge gaps on the safety of advanced materials to encounter the complexity and dimensions of the emerging diversity of advanced materials,
• development of testing and assessment strategies to support a more appropriate regulatory risk assessment,
• development and validation of timely and up to date harmonised testing methods to provide a basis for a sound risk assessment based on reliable hazard and exposure information,
• promotion of safe and sustainable design of advanced materials to assist innovators. 

For each of these areas, the strategy outlines the current state of research, research needs, and the expected impact of the research.  Additionally, the strategy highlights cross-cutting topics that act as research enablers such as data collection according to the ‘FAIR principles’, digitisation, networking and education as well as state-of-the-art laboratories equipment. Furthermore, the research strategy provides an overview of current research on advanced materials by the responsible German federal authorities. 

The now published “Strategic Research Agenda for safe advanced materials” is the fourth update of joint research strategies on nano and advanced materials of the German Higher Federal Authorities since 2007.

The joint research strategy is available on the UBA webpage: Strategic Research Agenda for Safe Advanced Materials