The European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides scientific support to European Union policy regarding nanotechnology and public health in a sustainable environment. Over the last three years, the JRC has focused part of its work on establishing and applying a priority list (NM-Series) of representative manufactured nanomaterials (RMNs) in support of one of the most comprehensive nanomaterial research programmes that is currently being carried out: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) Sponsorship Programme.

Approximate cost, production methods and market drivers

In this document we will analyse the manufacturing and techno-economic aspects that are perceived as key for determining the feasibility of commercially viable, mass-produced smart composite containers. The scope is not to propose new technical solutions, but rather to paint a panorama of the key aspects that, with currently available technology, will define the backdrop for future commercial and policy developments. This short review is an amalgam of materials-property and market information, whose aim is to provide an overview to assist the non-specialist in evaluating future R&D policy-developing criteria for the eventual development of tamper-evident, seafaring, containers based on the use of composite materials technology.

Report from the Materials Summit in Brussels, 10 September 2012

The Materials Summit 2012 brought together representatives of the main industrial and research stakeholders to discuss a strategic and modern vision of optimal features for materials R&D&I. The summit analysed and assessed the effectiveness of the support to materials research and innovation to date, and explored possible options for the future. Some of the issues addressed were the further structuring of the materials community, the best way of consulting stakeholders in order to prioritise and elaborate yearly work-programmes, how to achieve a winning combination of scientific and industrial advances, how to maximise the positive impact of the R&D&I support for the growth, competitiveness and sustainability of the EU industry, how to maximise the return for the taxpayers’ money invested.

European risk observatory, literature review - The review was carried out by a multi-disciplinary team, drawn from four EU countries (Denmark, France, Poland and the United Kingdom), with expertise in risk communication as well as in risk science and nanomaterials toxicity, and is divided into seven chapters, providing an introduction to the nanomaterials topic (chapter 1), a review of the general principles and theories on risk perception (chapter 2) and on risk communication (chapter 3), examples of challenges and difficulties linked to communication of risks and benefits of nanomaterials (chapter 4), a summary of relevant activities on risk communication for nanomaterials (chapter 5), conclusions (chapter 6) and recommendations that can be drawn from the studies and literature (chapter 7)