From 3-5 June 2024, the INDTech 2024 (Industrial Technologies) conference took place in Namur, Belgium, as the European Union flagship event bringing together stakeholders from research organizations, industry, SMEs, and policymaking. In presentations, round table discussions, and at the exhibition area, the participants discuss the state-of-the-art, technological challenges, as well as future trends in the field of industrial technologies.

Due to the importance of Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) for reaching the goal of the European Green Deal and especially the twin green and digital transformations, multiple projects of the EU NanoSafety Cluster (NSC) provided their expertise at the conference. The specific NSC-working group on “SSbD, innovation and regulation” is the collaboration ecosystem to further support the development and implementation of SSbD framework from the very early stages of technologic innovation.

BNN organised a joint booth at the exhibition, together with Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) and the NSC, where DIAGONAL, together with 22 other EU-funded projects, was presented. Thus, with this broad presence, it was possible to highlight the synergy generated from combining approaches from EU-funded projects with different foci, ranging from the development of new test methods, integrated approaches to testing and assessment and corresponding test guidelines and guidance documents to digital approaches supporting industry in performing SSbD. All these elements are central elements of the NSC working groups, facilitating to maximize the impact of public funding.