Increased international focus in phase 2 of Mistra SafeChem

Phase 2 of Mistra SafeChem is officially underway. The physical kick-off took place in Stockholm in October 2024, and the work will continue until the summer of 2028, now with an even more international focus.

The vision of Mistra SafeChem is to enable and promote the development of a safe, sustainable and green chemical industry.

– During the first phase of the programme, the vision ended “in Sweden”. We have deleted those words because we are working with a global industry and in an international context. This can be seen not least in the industrial partners involved, says programme director John Munthe, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

Nine industrial partners are participating

From the industry, AstraZeneca, BASF, Cambrex, EnginZyme, Merck, Nouryon, Perstorp Innovation, LigniCore and Stockholm Vatten och Avfall are participating.

Global science and technology company Merck Life Science is supporting the programme by involving their broad cross functional expertise. A large number of their scientists took part in the kick-off.

Merck expects the partnership in Mistra SafeChem to play a crucial role in shaping the company’s strategy to identify safer and more sustainable chemicals, aligning with the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.

– In the Mistra SafeChem consortia, we intend to collaborate with leading research partners in predicting intrinsic properties of chemicals and adverse effects, in life cycle assessment, and in process simulation. In addition, we will share valuable experience with industrial and academic partners and engage in meaningful dialogue with regulators, says Michael Siebold, head of Hazard Communication and Chemicals Regulations at Merck.

Nearly 40 tools are already developed

Mistra SafeChem is based on the twelve principles of green chemistry aimed at the design of chemical compounds and processes with minimal negative impact on the environment and health. This will continue in phase 2 but with a strengthened focus on the EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and the concept SSbD (Safe and Sustainable by Design) developed by the EU Joint Research Centre in dialogue with the research community, industry and authorities.

In its first phase, the programme launched a toolbox containing the accumulated results of four years of research. It contains nearly 40 different methods and processes that can be used in the further development of new chemicals, materials and products.

Five case studies develop sustainable processes

In phase 2, five interdisciplinary case studies will develop new processes for selected chemicals and materials, including using and improving the tools developed in phase 1. The aim is to present processes and products that can be assessed according to the criteria and guidelines for SSbD.

Michael Siebold expects the case studies to lead to the pragmatic and accurate implementation of the SSbD framework in innovation processes:

– Practical solutions and insights from the case studies will contribute to identifying safer and more sustainable chemicals. At the same time, the sustainability assessment of more complex molecules is improved by leveraging more advanced computer-based tools.

Six research partners working together

The research partners in Mistra SafeChem are IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, RISE, Stockholm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Uppsala University.

The programme is funded by Mistra, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, with SEK 70 million over four years. The programme partners will contribute SEK 30 million. Phase 1 was granted in 2019. Phase 2 was launched on 1 July 2024 and runs until June 2028.