Thomas E. Exner from coordinating partner Seven Past Nine wrote an article for the Online Innovation News Network:
Thomas Exner (2026), “Digitalising safe-and-sustainable materials innovation”, The Innovation Platform Issue 26, pp.184-187. DOI.org/10.66233/INNP-026-30162.
The PINK project is pleased to share that it has been featured in Innovation News Network, an international online publication dedicated to reporting on scientific research, technological innovation, sustainability, energy, healthcare, and European research initiatives. The platform provides a channel for communicating research achievements and societal impact to a broad audience of policymakers, industry stakeholders, researchers, and the general public.
The publication forms part of the project’s dissemination and communication activities aimed at bringing the results to the attention of a wider public. Importantly, the article also recognises the significant challenges involved in operationalising SSbD, particularly for complex advanced materials. It notes that materials innovation is often hindered by fragmented datasets, disconnected modelling tools, interdisciplinary complexity, and limited early-stage data. The author acknowledge that comprehensive sustainability and safety assessments can quickly become impractical for complex material systems and that current methodologies still have limitations. PINK addresses these challenges through interoperability frameworks, prioritisation strategies, and a pragmatic “divide-and-conquer” approach, while ongoing industrial case studies are intended to identify both the potential and the practical limits of digital SSbD implementation.
For the Innovation News Network audience, these insights might be particularly relevant because they illustrate how digital technologies can help bridge the gap between ambitious policy objectives and practical industrial implementation. The article provides a concrete example of how European research and innovation projects are addressing the growing demand for sustainable, safe, and competitive materials while also acknowledging the scientific and operational challenges involved. As policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders seek pathways to accelerate the green and digital transition, the PINK project offers valuable perspectives on both the opportunities and limitations of data-driven, AI-supported innovation ecosystems.
If you are interested in the full publication follow this link to read, the article about the PINK project starts on page 184.
The PINK project is funded by the European Union`s R&I Programme Horizon Europe (grant agreement # 101137809).
