Sustainable safe-by-design 2D materials technology (RIA)

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Development of Safe and Sustainable by Design two-dimensional materials (2DM) technology.
• Societal acceptance of 2DM and 2DM-based technologies.
• A set of robust and verified assays for toxicity and eco-toxicity testing of 2DM, to support regulatory requirements for their registration and authorisation for use (OECD test guidelines^[1], REACH compliance, authorisation pathways^[2])

The increasing commercial exploitation of 2DM necessitates a comprehensive evaluation of their potential impact on human health and the environment. It is thus of utmost importance for 2DM technology development to understand the properties that underlie the potential toxicity of these materials. Since not all 2DMs are alike, it is essential to disentangle the structure-activity relationships for this class of materials.

Proposals should aim to ensure a safe development of 2DM technology and in the long term, a sustainable market entry/penetration of 2DM-based products. Proposals should comply with the Safe and Sustainable by Design framework^[3] and criteria.

Multidisciplinary research and innovation activities should address all of the following:

• Critical examination of 2DM health and environment issues, ranging from general toxicology, to occupational health and environmental impact.
• Studies and tests of biocompatibility and safety of 2DMs and composites along their life cycle;
• Development of solutions to modulate potential risks by developing appropriate chemical/physical approaches towards safer manufactured materials and nanomaterials (safe-by-design 2DMs).
• Assessing the safety of 2DMs and composites at different TRL levels to develop and test best practices along the product development process, from prototypes to products tested in relevant environments in order to guarantee the highest impact possible.
• Development of validation processes supporting regulatory assessment.

Proposals submitted under this topic should include an exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.

Research should build on existing standards or contribute to standardisation. Interoperability for data sharing should be addressed.

Proposals should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and platforms. In particular projects are expected to develop synergies and relate to activities and outcomes of the projects selected under the other topics of ‘Graphene and 2D materials: Europe in the lead’ and where relevant of HORIZON-CL4-2023-RESILIENCE-01-21/22/23/24.

Proposals should also cover the contribution to the governance and overall coordination of the Graphene Flagship initiative.

Proposals should indicate which chapters of the Strategic Research and Innovation Plan for chemicals and materials they will contribute to.

Proposals should consider involving, directly or indirectly, appropriate expertise in other disciplines, for example in SSH disciplines, where relevant to achieve wider societal acceptance of 2DM-based technologies.

Activities are expected to start at TRL 2-3 and achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

[1]https://www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety/testing/oecd-guidelines-testing-chemicals-related-documents.htm

[2]https://echa.europa.eu/en/regulations/reach/registration

[3]See documents defining the SSbD framework and criteria on: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/advanced-materials-and-chemicals_en