HARMLESS SSbD Approach and Decision Support System for Advanced Nanomaterials

Oral presentation given by Susan Dekkers (TNO) at the SSbD24 conferene (10-15 November 2024, Monte Verità, Switzerland). On November 14th she presented the HARMLESS SSbD Approach and Decision Support System for Advanced Nanomaterials, in the “SSbD Tools & methods 1” session. In her presentation she explained the SSbD approach and DSS developed in the HARMLESS project, how the approach is aligned with the EU SSbD framework, how it considers data availability and resources along the innovation process, using a flexible stage-gate model of 3 innovation stages: ideation & business case phase, laboratory scale and pilot scale. She also introduced the tools and explained on how and when to use them: In the ideation and business case phase, designers are advised to use the AMEA and WASP tool. The Advanced Material Earliest Assessment (AMEA) tool consists of only 3 questions and is used for early categorization and subsequently advice on design principles and applicability of the SSbD approach. If the approach is applicable, the designer is advised to apply the second tool, named Warning flags, design Advice, Screening Priorities (WASP). WASP is based on the AMEA advice and several other existing tools as a simplified approach that requires less information. This approach consists of 12 questions to identify early warning flags on safety and sustainability and to provide design and assessment advice. To help industrial innovators to make an informed decision for the most optimal SSbD version in the lab phase, another approach, named Alternative SSbD Design Inspector (ASDI) was developed. Based on the early warning flags from WASP, ASDI provides guidance on which descriptors to measure and insight into the differences between the SSbD versions within the various dimensions (safety, sustainability and performance). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 953183.