ANTHOS26_Session3-Regulators

ANTHOS’26 – Solutions Session 3: Projects solutions to the needs of Regulators

Chair: Virgina Rodriguez (ECHA)
Co-chairs: Stig Irving Olsen (DTU), Blanca Suárez Merino (TEMASOL)

 

Description:

The transition to Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) offers a strategic opportunity to reshape Europe’s chemicals and materials sector and advance the EU Green Deal. Horizon Europe projects are embedding safety and sustainability principles at the earliest stages of innovation, demonstrating that anticipating regulatory requirements early in the innovation cycle could represent a valuable approach to help industry achieve regulatory compliance and drive competitiveness and technological leadership.

Safe and Sustainable by Design could represent a framework to address upcoming challenges in the evolving regulatory landscape, which is moving towards safety assessment approaches that are more humane and resource-efficient as well as increasing expectations to sustainability across life-cycle stages.

Key barriers remain to achieve the goals above: the absence of harmonized SSbD criteria, the need for validation and regulatory acceptance of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), and the challenge of integrating socio-economic and life-cycle considerations into decision-making. Rapidly emerging technologies such as AI-driven material design, nanomaterials, and digital twins further outpace existing guidance. Yet these gaps also create momentum. Projects are developing operational SSbD assessment frameworks, pathways that could support future certification schemes, FAIR and interoperable data infrastructures, and digital decision-support tools aligned with evolving regulatory expectations. They are validating advanced testing methods, generating regulatory-grade evidence and demonstrating safer alternatives in real-world applications.

This session will present practical solutions such as tools, methodologies and collaborative strategies that aim to transform regulatory challenges into enablers of safer, more sustainable innovation. By turning regulatory frameworks into catalysts for progress, SSbD approaches can reduce risks, accelerate market adoption, and position Europe as a global leader in sustainable materials design.

 

Key Takeaways

• Understand how SSbD can convert regulatory barriers into innovation drivers.
• Explore tools, methods, and demonstrators developed by Horizon Europe projects.
• Learn strategies for harmonizing methodologies and accelerating regulatory acceptance.

 

Topics & Speakers:

• In silico methods and AI developments, by Barry Hardy (EdelweissConnect)
• LCA methods for regulatory acceptance, by Massimo Perucca (Project Hub 360)
• Challenges regarding validation of NAMs for toxicity testing, by Peter Wick (empa)