Empa Uses Graphene to Test and Refine the SSbD Framework

Why It Matters

The work shows how a regulatory framework can evolve to address nanomaterial complexities, guiding EU compliance and industry adoption. It paves the way for safer, more sustainable graphene products across electronics, composites, and biomedical markets.

Key Takeaways

• Empa applied EU SSbD framework to graphene as a nanomaterial test case.
• Study maps hazard differences across graphene subclasses and exposure routes.
• Findings highlight need to adapt chemical‑focused tools for material properties.
• Framework simplification aims to aid SMEs in adopting safe design practices.
• Early results suggest graphene may outperform carbon alternatives in safety.

Pulse Analysis

The Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) initiative, spearheaded by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, seeks to embed safety and sustainability into product development from the outset. While the framework has been tested on traditional chemicals, nanomaterials like graphene pose distinct challenges because their risk profiles depend on surface chemistry, shape, and processing methods rather than just molecular structure. Empa’s decision to use graphene—a material with a rich, publicly available data set—provides a realistic laboratory for stress‑testing the SSbD criteria and identifying where the model needs to evolve.

Graphene’s versatility spans conductive inks, composite reinforcements, and drug‑delivery platforms, each with unique exposure pathways such as inhalation, dermal contact, or ingestion. By cataloguing hazard data across different graphene subclasses, Empa researchers can pinpoint which structural variants pose the lowest risk for a given application. This granular approach also reveals the limitations of existing SSbD tools, which were calibrated for chemicals and often overlook critical nanomaterial attributes like edge defects and flake size distribution. Adapting these tools to capture such nuances is essential for delivering reliable, science‑based risk assessments.

For industry, especially small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises, the refined SSbD framework promises a clearer, more accessible route to market compliance. Simplified assessment modules could reduce the need for costly external testing while still delivering trustworthy safety outcomes. As regulators increasingly demand evidence of sustainable design, Empa’s findings position graphene as a competitive, lower‑impact alternative to traditional carbon materials, potentially accelerating its adoption in sectors ranging from automotive to healthcare. Continued collaboration between research labs, standards bodies, and manufacturers will be key to translating these insights into actionable policy and commercial practice.