The 10th edition of the NanoSafety Training School, held as a virtual event from the 21st to the 25th June 2021 kicked off with two key note lectures on the Monday afternoon: Georgios Katalagarianakis (former EU Commission) talked about “Let’s celebrate: Eleven years of the Venice Training School, sixteen years of European Nanosafety research. History, lessons learned and perspectives”, and AcumenIST Director Steffi Friedrichs introduced “Concepts of sustainable Nanofabrication”.
The concept of sustainable nanofabrication is currently developed by the NanoFabNet, which provides an international hub for sustainable, indrustrial-scale nanofabrication, and which is coordinated by AcumenIST.
The summarised the initial impressions and interpretations of the terms “nanofabrication” and “sustainability” that the NanoFabNet stakeholders voiced during the 1st NanoFabNet Development Workshop, held on the 12th March 2020; according to these, “nanofabrication” was largely a concept of the disciplines of chemistry, physics, engineering, materials science and biology, while the term “sustainability” was associated mainly with the environment, and circular economy, as well as products that were eco-friendly, renewable, long-lasting, and safe. The most important criteria for “sustainable nanofabrication” were understood to be “nanowaste”, “safety”, “human health”, “recycling”, “resource efficiency”, “waste management”, and “carbon footprint”.
The literature analysis that AcumenIST is currently conducting for NanoFabNet, however, shows very little overlap of the scientific discipline of sustainability with that of nanotechnology and nanofabrication. The NanoFabNet Hub provides a platform for collaborations and knowledge exchange between both disciplines and seeks to support the advancement of sustainable nanofabrication through information and service provision, ranging from harmonisation and standardisation activities to validation services.
