Brightcon 2026 brought together researchers, practitioners, developers and other stakeholders working on quantitative sustainability assessment and life cycle assessment (LCA). The conference focuses on fostering an open and collaborative ecosystem around LCA tools, data and methods, providing a space for participants to exchange knowledge, explore new approaches and work together on the further development of sustainability assessment.

The 2026 edition, held in Aalborg, Denmark, from 20 to 25 September, was themed “Collaboration: Mixing Tools, Data and People”. The programme featured presentations, workshops and keynote sessions and was preceded by courses and a hackathon. The event welcomed 93 onsite and 129 online participants, with attendees from universities, research institutes, industry, government and other organisations across Europe and beyond.

Thomas Arblaster from Leiden University’s Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), representing SSbD4CheM, presented “Formalising product systems which represent dispersed functions with metabolic time-explicit LCA” in the T2 – Methods & Frontiers session on September 24^th.

The presentation built on previous SSbD4CheM work exploring how prospective and time-explicit LCA can support Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD). It addressed conceptual and practical challenges emerging from recent developments in LCA tools and datasets and discussed potential directions for future tool development. The presentation also highlighted the need for a common and internally consistent conceptual foundation to ensure that new developments in ex-ante LCA can effectively support SSbD.

Instead of conventional presentation slides, a Jupyter notebook was used to demonstrate the underlying concepts and methods. The presentation built on previous SSbD4CheM work exploring how prospective and time-explicit LCA can support Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD).

The presentation is publicly available in Zenodo (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23062032). A recording of the presentation is also planned to be made publicly available online.

The presentation was followed by a valuable discussion with members of the LCA community, providing a range of perspectives and inputs for the project’s ongoing work. Participation in Brightcon also offered an opportunity to connect with stakeholders from different sectors and gain insights into current developments in LCA.

How can we design the chemicals and materials of the future to be safe and sustainable from the very beginning?

In this interview, Milica Velimirovic (VITO), coordinator of the SSbD4CheM project, introduces the project and discusses its role in advancing the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) approach.

Milica answers three key questions:

• Why is SSbD4CheM important?
• What makes the project different from previous SSbD initiatives?
• What impact can SSbD4CheM have on European innovation and competitiveness

Discover how SSbD4CheM is working to support the development of safer and more sustainable chemicals and materials while contributing to a more innovative and competitive European industry.

The SSbD4CheM project participated in NanoInnovation 2026, held from 14–18 September 2026 in Rome, Italy. The conference brought together researchers, scientists, regulators, academia and industry professionals to exchange knowledge on the latest developments in nanoscience and nanotechnology and to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue.

On 16 September, Milica Velimirovic (VITO) represented SSbD4CheM with an oral presentation entitled “Advanced Analytical Strategies for Reliable Exposure Assessment of Micro- and Nanoplastics”. The presentation provided an overview of state-of-the-art approaches for the detection, characterisation and quantification of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in environmental and biological matrices.

Particular attention was given to challenges in assessing human and environmental exposure, including the detection of small particles at environmentally relevant concentrations. The presentation covered advanced sampling and sample preparation methods as well as emerging analytical techniques for water, air, soil, food and biological samples, with a focus on mass spectrometry approaches such as spCIP-MS and Py-GC/MS.

For nanoplastics, where reliable exposure assessment remains particularly challenging due to their small size, low concentrations and complex interactions with environmental matrices, Milica highlighted the importance of harmonised approaches, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC), reference materials and standardised protocols to ensure robust and comparable results.

The presentation concluded with future perspectives on advancing analytical strategies for micro- and nanoplastics.

A key message of her presentation was that reliable exposure assessment requires the integration of advanced analytical techniques, rigorous quality control and standardised methodologies to support robust environmental and human health risk assessment.

In her presentation, Milica also acknowledged the EU-funded projects InPlasTwin, Remedies, SSbD4CheM, Upstream and VisionAir.

This video briefly shows the PFAS-free bio-based coatings for textile functionalisation that have been developed within the SSbD4CheM project by by the project partners KORTEKS, NOVEX, and WOOD K plus.

These coatings combine hydrophobic, self-cleaning, and antimicrobial properties with solvent-free atmospheric pressure plasma polymerisation.

On 17th June 2026, the SSbD4CheM project contributed to stakeholder dialogue on data-driven Safe and Sustainable materials design with its active participation in the stakeholder event “Advanced Materials: How to Go from Data to Design through the Scope of SSbD?”, organized by the CheMatSustain project following its 5th General Assembly in Valencia. The event brought together experts from EU research projects, industry, and academia to explore how data, databases, artificial intelligence (AI), and Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) principles can accelerate innovation in advanced materials.

SSbD4CheM was featured in the latest edition of the BNN QUARTERLY 02/2026, entitled “Women at the Forefront of Science & Innovation” with three articles:

1. “SSbD4CheM: Women Driving Safer and Sustainable Innovation”
2. “Recap of the 2nd NSC Workshop on ‘SSbD Scenarios,’ Held on 5 December 2025”
3. Interviews with Yvonne Kohl and Tassos Papadiamantis

Read the BNN QUARTERLY here:
https://lnkd.in/dkp3gHUQ

On 7 July 2026, Milica Velimirovic (VITO) participated in the kick-off event of the Belgian Plastic Pollution Research Community (BPPRC) held in Ghent, Belgium. The event gathered over 40 experts from 10 Belgian universities, research institutes, and 3 policy-related bodies.

The BPPRC is a collaborative network of Belgian researchers dedicated to understanding, monitoring, and addressing plastic pollution in Belgian ecosystems and beyond. Their mission is to bring scientists, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders together to advance knowledge on plastic pollution, understand environmental and human health effects, support risk assessment and mitigation measures, as well as evidence-based solutions for a litter-free environment, and advance the scientific state-of-the-art.

In the meeting, Milica engaged with this interdisciplinary platform in thematic focus groups mapping Belgian expertise in microplastics, ecotoxicological effect studies, and human health risk assessments. By participating in these discussions, Milica also in front of SSbD4CheM advocated for the integration of Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) principles early in the lifecycle of materials to mitigate the very plastic pollution and toxicity challenges highlighted by the community. 

Read the whole recap on the website of the Belgian Plastic Pollution Research Community.

The SSbD4CheM consortium met in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and hybrid, for its M30 General Assembly, bringing together project partners to review the progress achieved over the past six months and preparing strategic actions for the upcoming phase of the project in 2026.

Over two days of discussions, WP and Task leaders shared the latest developments and explored the next steps. The meeting also provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen collaboration, exchange ideas, and reinforce the shared commitment to the project’s objectives.

Participants were given a laboratory tour through the Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering of the National Institute of Chemistry. Ondrej Panak and his colleagues guided the project partners through some of the research groups within the department. Its core activities focus on chemical and process engineering, including reactor and unit operation design and construction, as well as multi-scale process modelling. Key research areas include carbon dioxide and natural gas conversion, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, biomass valorisation to bio-based products, and (bio)pharmaceutical processes. The visit also included the microscopy center at NIC, providing insight into advanced characterisation and analytical capabilities.

Special thank you goes to the National Institute of Chemistry for hosting the meeting and for the excellent organisation, which also allowed participants to experience Slovenian culture and hospitality. Also big thank you also to our project coordinator, Milica Velimirović, for her continued leadership and guidance throughout the project.

We are pleased to congratulate our colleagues at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) for receiving the 2nd prize in the EARTO Innovation Awards 2026, in the category “Impact Delivered”, awarded during the ceremony on 10 June, for their magSIMS nano-imaging instrument.

The magSIMS, developed by LIST in collaboration with Raith, is an advanced mass spectrometer which enables structural and chemical analysis at the nanoscale. It combines exceptional spatial resolution with high chemical sensitivity, opening new possibilities across fields such as electronics, materials science, biology, and geology.

Within the SSbD4CheM project, our colleague Antje Biesemeier and her team at LIST are actively using the magSIMS to support key research activities. The instrument is applied to:

• investigate nanotoxicological endpoints in the cosmetics use case
• characterise physicochemical properties of innovative textile coatings developed within the project

This work not only advances scientific understanding within SSbD4CheM, but also contributes to the continued development and refinement of the magSIMS technology itself, demonstrating a strong synergy between methodological innovation and application-driven research.

A warm congratulations to LIST for this outstanding recognition and their continued contribution to addressing global challenges and supporting Europe’s transition towards a carbon-neutral, pollution-free, and technologically sovereign future.