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Strengthening Global Competitiveness

Jul 17, 2026Video

Dealing with Sameness and Similarity Grouping and Read Across of Advanced

How can grouping and read-across approaches support regulatory compliance for graphene and advanced nanomaterials? ACCORDS and iCARE hosted a focused virtual workshop introducing the principles of grouping and read-across as applied to advanced and nanomaterials. The workshop presented Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATAs) for inhalation and neurotoxicity endpoints in graphene 2D related materials, the linking of biological effects with materials characteristics, and shared…

Jul 15, 2026Member News

NIA Member Yordas Group Founder and CEO Jonathan Lutwyche Awarded OBE in King’s Birthday Honours 2026

Recognition for services to sustainable chemicals management, economic growth, international trade, and advancing opportunities for women and young people Lancaster, UK - Yordas Group is proud to announce that its Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Lutwyche, has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in His Majesty The King’s Birthday Honours 2026. The honour recognises Jonathan’s contribution to sustainable chemicals management, his role in driving economic growth…

All MembersUniting the Nanomaterials Ecosystem

Jul 15, 2026Event

DESIDERATA to host SWOT workshop on SSbD framework

NIA member project DESIDERATA is running a workshop on 8 September (09:00–11:30 CET) to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the European Commission's Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) Framework. Drawing on eighteen months of project findings, the session will focus on implementation hurdles and how to work through them, with a high-level panel featuring the JRC, the chair of the OECD's Safe Innovation Approach group, and industry representatives. Registration…

All MembersStrengthening Global Competitiveness

NIA at Brussels summit on indoor air quality

NIA's Interim Director General, Sean Kelly, joined the IDEAL Cluster summit "The Air We Share" in Brussels in June, addressing indoor air quality across Europe. The appearance builds on four years of NIA involvement in the LEARN project, led by NIA member INL, which explores how nanotechnology can improve air quality measurement in schools. Kelly joined a panel discussing what the IDEAL Cluster's various projects—LEARN included—can contribute to future policy, standards and technology in this…

NIA co-chairs BIAC at OECD's 20th anniversary nanosafety meeting

The 26th OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials met in Paris on 24–25 June, and NIA took part as co-chair of Business at OECD (BIAC), weighing in on priorities across the OECD's nanosafety programme. The meeting doubled as the 20th anniversary of the Working Party, and NIA joined other delegates in looking back at two decades of international cooperation on nanomaterial safety assessment while turning attention to what's ahead—advanced materials, Safe and Sustainable Innovation…

All MembersUniting the Nanomaterials Ecosystem

NIA takes part in ECHA's first meeting on animal-testing alternatives

NIA's Director of Regulatory Affairs sat in on the inaugural meeting of ECHA's Collaborative Platform of Alternatives to Animal Testing (CP-AAT), a new group backing the European Commission's push to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessments. The platform draws in EU Member States, the Commission, EU agencies, industry, academia and public-private partnerships, all working to speed up regulatory acceptance of non-animal methods. Members used the first session to map existing…

New design rule proposed for boron nanomaterials

EUON's latest Nanopinion, "From Boron Fullerenes to Borophenes: A Simple Rule for Designing New Nanomaterials," lays out a coordination-based method for predicting how boron nanomaterials will behave structurally, replacing guesswork with a more systematic approach. By tracking how boron atoms coordinate in four-, five- and six-fold arrangements, the author connects boron fullerenes—closed, cage-like structures—to flat, two-dimensional borophenes. This coordination pattern offers a shortcut for…

Germany pushes for stronger nano-specific REACH requirements

Five years after nano-specific information requirements entered into force under REACH, Germany has told the European Commission they need reinforcement. The call follows a national review by German competent authorities, feeding into the OECD's compilation of country activities on manufactured nanomaterials. While the original requirements were a useful first step, Germany's review found real gaps: missing test methods for nano-specific endpoints, few updates to existing dossiers, limited…

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

European Commission updates REACH restrictions roadmap

The European Commission has published a refreshed version of its REACH Restrictions Roadmap, updating stakeholders on the status of hazardous substance restrictions since the roadmap launched in 2022. Eleven restrictions covering hundreds of substances have now been adopted, with six more proposals nearing completion, including work on PFAS, hexavalent chromium, octocrylene and other persistent or endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The revision adds no new nanomaterial-specific restrictions, but…

Jul 15, 2026Report

NIA Meeting Report on the 26th MEETING OF THE WORKING PARTY ON MANUFACTURED NANOMATERIALS (OECD) - 24 June 2026, Paris

NOTE: This document and all appended documents are confidential to registered NIA Members.

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

CEN and ISO Advance Nanotechnology Standards Updates

Under CEN/TC 352 Nanotechnologies the following documents have been published: CEN/CENELEC report from 2025 published (18.06.2026). The report reviews the activities achieved during the past year and showcases advances in standardization for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, cyber resilience and quantum technologies, and the implementation of the CEN and CENELEC Strategy 2030. ANNUAL REPORT 2025. The CEN and CENELEC Presidential Committee Annual Plenary Meetings, held in…

NIA joins ECHA's new platform on alternatives to animal testing

NIA's Director of Regulatory Affairs attended the inaugural meeting of ECHA's newly formed Collaborative Platform of Alternatives to Animal Testing (CP-AAT), a group set up to support the European Commission's roadmap for phasing out animal testing in chemical safety assessments. The platform brings together EU Member States, the European Commission, EU agencies, industry, academia and public-private partnerships to speed up regulatory acceptance of non-animal methods. What the group agreed on…

Jul 9, 2026Video

Nanokittens

A new class of "feline-scale" nanomaterials is emerging, promising self-assembling yarn, odor-neutralizing litter coatings, and scratching posts engineered at the molecular level for maximum satisfaction and minimum sofa casualties.Researchers report that nanoscale purr amplification could allow a single kitten to reassure an entire open-plan office, raising both morale and serious workplace-policy questions.Standards bodies have convened an emergency working group after three separate labs independently invented a graphene whisker, none of which can agree on how many whiskers is the correct number.Autonomous red-dot systems have reached a level of sophistication that experts describe as "concerning," with at least one prototype now refusing to let the cat win on principle.Regulators are scrambling to classify nanomaterials that are technically safe but have been "extensively evaluated" by animals with no regard for peer review, chain of custody, or the concept of a clean bench.The Association urges members to pursue innovation responsibly, adopt voluntary standards, and accept that no coating survives contact with a determined kitten.

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

LEARN Project: A Call for Action on Indoor Air Quality in European Schools

Through its work on the LEARN project, the NIA has co-authored a policy briefing setting out concrete recommendations to improve indoor air quality in schools across Europe. Project findings show that poor air quality affects both the health and cognitive performance of school children — and that the means to address it exist. Yet indoor air quality remains largely unregulated at EU level, with no common policy framework in place. The briefing calls for coordinated action involving schools…

May 15, 2026Report

ECHA Nanomaterial Expert Group 23 Meeting

The ECHA NMEG held its 23rd meeting in Helsinki on 7–8 May 2026, focusing on regulatory and scientific developments concerning nanomaterials under REACH. ECHA reported the continuous growth in nanoform registrations and the number of Technical Completeness Checks by April 2026. Ongoing compliance checks and evaluations continue for titanium dioxide (TiO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO), graphene oxide, pigment red 112, and synthetic amorphous silica (SAS. Discussions highlighted persistent challenges in…

All MembersDeveloping Tomorrow's Leaders

Dealing with Sameness and Similarity: Grouping and Read-Across of Advanced (Nano)Materials Workshop

As part of its work in the iCare Project, the NIA managed and chaired a workshop on grouping and read across of advanced (nano) materials. Kai Paul from NIA Member Blue Frog Scientific gave the introductory talk to introduce the recent ECHA funded work that has been undertaken to support a framework for identifying single nanoforms. This was followed by talks from Damjana Drobne (University of Ljubljana) on the ACCORDS characterisation for linking biological effects with physicochemical…

May 15, 2026Member News

How NIA Membership Opened the Door for InFinite Biotech to Shape the Future of Nanomaterial Risk Assessment

At the May 2026 meeting of the ECHA’s Nanomaterial Expert Group (NMEG), NIA Member Infinite Biotech presented a novel “in-vitro-learned digital twin” platform (InFinite™) designed to predict long-term health effects of nanomaterial exposure using advanced New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and digital modelling. The platform combines live cellular monitoring, mechanistic modelling, and in silico disease evolution to generate rapid predictions of long-term toxicity while potentially reducing…

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

Special Purpose Committee on Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) 2nd Meeting

The NIA’s Special Purpose Committee on Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) held its second meeting on 13 May 2026 and was attended by NIA Members and invited guests. Chaired by NIA Member Cabot, the Special Committee is aimed at agreeing join positions on CNTs, providing advocacy to relevant regulators and policymakers, sharing information on CNT topics and undertaking collaborative work on areas of interest to NIA members such as exposure levels, standards and Test Guidelines. The meeting had a very full…

Corporate Members OnlyStrengthening Global Competitiveness

Standardisation updates

Under CEN/TC 352 Nanotechnologies through M/461 Standardization Mandate to CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI for standardization activities regarding nanotechnologies, the following have been published CEN/TS 18269 (WI 00352043) Nanotechnologies - Guidance on the determination of the aggregation and agglomeration state of nano-objects CEN/TS 18267 (WI 00352044) Nanotechnologies - Guidelines for sample preparation, detection, identification, and characterization by spICP-MS and EM-EDX of nano-objects in…

Apr 23, 2026NIA News

NIA at the EU Technology Council: Europe's Advanced Materials Strategy Takes Shape

Sean Kelly, NIA's Interim Director General, was in Brussels on 14 April for the third meeting of the European Commission's Technology Council for Advanced Materials — the body steering the EU's long-term strategy on this critical sector. The session was a busy one. Members heard updates from the Advanced Materials Academy and reviewed outcomes from the FAME (Future of Advanced Materials in Europe) Workshop. The Scientific Advice Mechanism also presented its recommendations to the Commission…

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

Apr 23, 2026Report

NIA Meeting Report on the CEN/TC 352 Nanotechnologies 37th meeting - 27 March 202

The NIA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs Blanca Suarez attended the recent CEN/TC 352 Nanotechnologies committee meeting. This committee works in close coordination with ISO/TC 229 and meets regularly to review current standards and identify future standards work. Sara Grahovac was appointed as the new Chairperson of the committee and we will be featuring an interview with her in a future NIA newsletter. Members can access a full report of the meeting below.

Corporate Members OnlyAdvancing Sound Regulation & Standards

Apr 23, 2026NIA News

NIA Launches New Committee to Tackle Carbon Nanotube Regulation and Safety

March saw the first meeting of NIA's new Special Purpose Committee on Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), chaired by NIA Board Member Ishrat Chaudhuri of Cabot Corporation. The committee brings together NIA members to develop a coordinated industry voice on CNT-related regulatory developments, while also identifying gaps in the science and methodology underpinning CNT safety assessment. At its inaugural meeting, the group worked through a range of issues relevant to CNT producers and agreed to draw up a…

All MembersDriving Widespread Adoption

Apr 23, 2026NIA News

NIA-Chaired Workshop Shapes EU Advanced Materials Strategy — Report Now Available

The report from the Future of Advanced Materials Europe (FAME) Workshop is now published, drawing on input from over 250 stakeholders gathered in Aveiro, Portugal last November. The event was part of NIA's work as Chair of the Subgroup on Uptake and Deployment on the Technology Council for Advanced Materials — making the findings directly relevant to the Advanced Materials Act now taking shape in Brussels. The headline finding is clear: Europe's problem is not a lack of research. It is the gap…