Topic 5
Materials addressing environmental challenges

The topic will support the transition towards a circular economy by addressing design, synthesis, shaping, production, use and recovery of advanced materials covering: SSbD materials; biodegradable and bio-based materials; substitution or reduction of hazardous substances, fossil-based and/or critical materials; sensing and removal of hazardous substances; materials recycling.

The reduction of resources consumption and waste generation and improved materials recyclability, in accordance with a sustainable development, is becoming a necessity related to decarbonization, circular economy and environmental protection.

Proposals should develop and/or integrate new materials, advanced processing routes and digital technologies, all along the value chain, to enable more efficient and safer approaches tackling environmental challenges. These innovations should target sustainable solutions in environmental applications, addressing at least one of the following areas:

• SSbD, also including:
  • product and material life extension (self-healing; reparability, etc.)
  • resource optimization (materials; water; energy, etc.)
  • waste reduction and/or valorisation
  • life cycle perspective
  • prediction assessment (failure, risk reduction, etc.)

• Biodegradable, bio-based materials including:
  • biodegradable polymers, fibers, composites, etc.
  • new (bio)chemical processes that reduce sources of (nano/micro)plastic (e.g. for packaging, in agriculture, etc.)

• Substitution or reduction of hazardous substances, fossil-based and/or critical materials, e.g. alternative to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
• Advanced materials for sensing and removal of hazardous substances from air, water or soil
• Clean and efficient materials recycling
  • designed for easy dismantling and sorting
  • clean recovery and recycling technologies (reduce hazardous side-streams from recycling, e.g. use of alternative solvents)
  • use of European secondary materials sources to reduce the dependency on imported materials and to limit supply risks (recycled materials with processing compatibility with first use materials, etc.)

Inclusion of one or more of the following cross-cutting aspects would be considered a strength:

• Additive manufacturing for sustainable production and resource efficiency

• Methodologies supported by digitalization (e.g. computational modelling, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc.)
• Strengthening the whole innovation chain covering materials processing, application, and recycling. Such integration could be further enhanced by fostering collaboration between academia and industry, and by a consortium covering the whole circular value chain and life-cycle.
• Assessment of the project´s economical, environmental, societal and safety impacts.

Proposals should address how they will contribute to the expected impact of the topic, addressing at least two of the following aspects:

• Increased material circularity.
• Sustainable and cost-efficient production methods (synthesis, processing, recycling) for high quality materials and components.
• Less pollution of water / air / soil.
• Contribution to zero-waste objectives by reducing waste generation and improving its valorisation.
• Increased substitution of fossil-based materials (e.g. with bio-based materials), of CRM and of materials with hazardous components.

The aim is to increase the European competitiveness by offering sustainable, safe, energy efficient and low carbon materials production and recycling technologies that enable the creation of new business opportunities and models for the EU industry.

The proposal impacts should be substantiated with key performance indicators. All proposals should clearly state the TRL at the project start and at the project end. The proposals should include a plan for the transition to higher TRLs at a later stage (i.e., beyond the project end date). Establishing an industrial and societal advisory board or the participation of one or more companies in the project consortium is encouraged, as well as considering the inclusion of a societal stakeholder.

M-ERA.NET requires that all proposers explain how their projects demonstrate a commitment to RRI by investigating and addressing the environmental, social, ethical, political, or cultural dimensions of the proposed research:

In line with the M-ERA.NET RRI annex, proposals should consider the following points:

• Resources: the use of resources overall, the environmental properties of the materials, the use of critical raw materials, energy, water, etc.
• Use phase: the sustainability of the conditions under which the material can be used (continuous energy use, releases to the environment, life span, etc.).
• End of life: the entry of the material into the circular economy, including, repairing, re-use (second life), re-manufacturing or recycling considerations.
• Inclusion of relevant societal stakeholders as appropriate.

• Green-production-processes: use of environmentally friendly solvents, avoiding hazardous elements, substances of concern, minimizing energy and water consumption during production and preserving worker’s health

Proposals should describe potential trade-offs between sustainability burdens and benefits, and include an activity where relevant aspects are further investigated, potentially with corresponding impacts on the design of the material(s).

This topic is targeted at all groups in the innovation chain: disruptive, applied research, industrial research and development. In proposals targeting TRL 4 and higher, industrial partners and at least one project partner specialised on customer or end-user demands should be involved in the project consortium. Collaboration between research entities and industrial partners is encouraged also at lower TRLs.

Projects submitted to this Topic should choose at least 2 keywords from the following list:

Air treatment; Bio-based materials; Biodegradation; Circularity; CRM substitution; Degradable materials; Emerging pollutants; Hazard materials substitution; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); Material life extension; Material recyclability; Product life extension; Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD); Soil treatment; Sustainable processing; Waste recycling; Waste reduction; Wastewater treatment; Water conditioning.

General keywords (KWs) (such as Additive manufacturing / 3D printing; Durability; Nanomaterials; Recyclability…) and Additional KWs (free text) can also be chosen in the submission platform. The ensemble of the keywords should allow for an overview of the scope of the project (consider describing different aspects of the project such as: main scientific area / domain, system / property / material of interest, applications / objectives and pertinent procedures / techniques).

General keywords (KWs) (such as Additive manufacturing / 3D printing; Durability; Nanomaterials; Recyclability…) and Additional KWs (free text) can also be chosen in the submission platform. The ensemble of the keywords should allow for an overview of the scope of the project (consider describing different aspects of the project such as: main scientific area / domain, system / property / material of interest, applications / objectives and pertinent procedures / techniques).