ACCORDs co-hosts first Joint Regulatory Risk Assessors Summit on Advanced Materials at OECD headquarters

The Joint Regulatory Risk Assessors Summit (19–20 June 2025) brought together researchers, regulators, industry representatives and policy makers at the OECD premises in Paris to examine the state-of-the-art in safety and sustainability assessment of advanced materials. The meeting was organised collaboratively by the Horizon Europe projects ACCORDs, MACRAMÉ, nanoPASS and iCare, underscoring a shared commitment to harmonising test methods, data standards and regulatory uptake. The OECD provided an unparalleled forum for multi-stakeholder dialogue, ensuring that scientific advances are discussed directly in the setting where future Test Guidelines and policy recommendations are shaped.

A programme focused on regulatory relevance

Across two intensive days the Summit delivered plenary discussions, thematic technical sessions and structured breakout groups:

• Day 1 (19 June) addressed stakeholder challenges in safety testing, followed by parallel sessions on (i) characterisation and detection in test systems, (ii) human-health models, and (iii) environmental fate and ecotoxicology. An evening poster session fostered networking among delegates.
• Day 2 (20 June) centred on assessing industrially relevant samples along the life-cycle and formulating recommendations for new regulatory test methods, concluding with key take-aways to guide joint work in the coming year. (

ACCORDs leadership and scientific contribution

In its role as co-organiser, ACCORDs delivered tangible impact:

• Session leadership – ACCORDs partner (BAM) chaired the technical track on characterisation of advanced materials, guiding discussions on measurement harmonisation.
• Four invited talks – covering image-based, multi-scale characterisation strategies for graphene family materials under Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) principles.
• Six posters with rapid pitches – showcasing workflow automation, data FAIRification and regulatory use-cases; each poster catalysed questions from regulators and industry.
• Breakout facilitation – ACCORDs experts steered the group developing consensus on minimum characterisation sets for complex nanomaterials.
• Strategic networking – extensive bilateral meetings strengthened links with OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN) delegates and standardisation bodies.

Through these activities ACCORDs demonstrated how its holistic imaging approach bridges scientific innovation with regulatory needs, reinforcing the project’s mission to enable safe and market-ready graphene-based technologies.

Value for stakeholders

The Summit created a unique space where method developers, risk assessors and policy makers could:

• exchange first-hand experience on emerging regulatory frameworks;
• compare data requirements for SSbD implementation;
• align on priority gaps for OECD Test Guideline development;

Feedback collected on-site confirmed that participants value ACCORDs’ proactive convening role and called for follow-up workshops to track progress on agreed actions.

Looking ahead

By co-organising this high-level event within the OECD framework, ACCORDs has once again demonstrated its dedication to fostering evidence-based regulation and to connecting the diverse community working towards safer, sustainable advanced materials.