The twin green-digital transition is a cornerstone of the European strategy. This transition should lead to a circular, sustainable, and NetZero-emission European economy that works for people. Advanced materials are the source of prosperity and form the backbone of a systematic approach to innovative products in-line with the European strategy as analyzed in the Materials 2030 Manifesto and put forward in the Communication of the EC on Advanced Materials for Industrial Leadership [COM(2024) 98 final].
However, the stakeholder groups involved in product innovations based on advanced materials in Europa are today on a varying level of digital maturity. While in particular large industries have already started to implement the twin green-digital transition in their daily business, the European SMEs in general are lagging behind. Effective legislation and regulation supporting the twin green-digital transition is currently under way, enforcing for example digital-product-passports, which need to get implemented as part of industrial production in a collaborative fashion along distributed production- and value-chains in a circular economy. RTOs and HEs working on innovation processes are in general on a low level of digital maturity with respect to harmonized data exchange. This hinders a necessary acceleration of the utilization of research results within their communities and in industrial innovation processes. Last but not least, European society start to value save, green and sustainable products, and ask for transparency and traceability as product consumers and as industrial workforce.
Accelerating the design, development, and production of advanced, save and sustainable chemicals and materials necessary for product innovations calls for a collaborative approach involving different stakeholders in circular economy to support durability, repair and overhaul, reuse, and recyclability of products. These requirements set the stage for all materials development communities in Europa and need to get implemented as targets in materials and product innovation processes as soon as possible.
In this session, we are going to discuss how to facilitate the adaptation of Innovative Advanced Materials research and development results in industrial production processes along value chains targeting circular economy goals.
Characterisation as accelerator of advanced modelling
by Nello Li Pira (CRF, Italy)
How Digitalization enables sustainable business models for materials characterization and modeling services
by Franz Pirker (AC2T research GmbH, AT)
Meeting safe and sustainable by design materials and tools
by Amaya Igartua (TEKNIKER, EUMAT, ES)