At the SSbD25 Conference in Zurich (10–12 November 2025), the BIOSAFIRE consortium presented a new poster titled “SSbD in the Industrial Environment: Embedding SSbD in the Manufacturing Value Chain.”
The poster illustrates how BIOSAFIRE is integrating the Safe and Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) principles into the entire product development chain for bio-based flame retardants (FRs), from research and innovation to industrial manufacturing.
A three-pillar approach
BIOSAFIRE applies a structured methodology based on three pillars:
Pillar 1 – Research, Development & Innovation
Focused on developing bio-based FRs from lignins and tannins, valorising EU paper by-products and agro-waste, and ensuring effective flame-retardant performance.Pillar 2 – Interoperability & Decision Making
Bridges research and industrial implementation, ensuring SSbD principles guide decision-making at each stage and that all actors in the value chain are aligned.Pillar 3 – SSbD Framework Application
Applies the JRC SSbD guidance to assess safety, sustainability, and regulatory compliance throughout the product lifecycle, from raw materials to end-of-life.
Practical implementation
The poster details how SSbD is embedded in practice:
- Material development: sourcing renewable raw materials, minimizing toxic chemicals, and converting process waste into resources.
- Process synthesis: efficient, safer chemical processes with reduced environmental impact.
- Semi-product and product use: integrating FRs into polymers or wood coatings, ensuring flame retardancy, minimal smoke, and reduced leaching.
- End-of-life: considering recyclability, degradation, and lifecycle impacts.
A compliance tracker is used to monitor adherence to SSbD principles and support regulatory-ready products.
Read the full poster to explore the methodology, case studies, and SSbD implementation in BIOSAFIRE:
Growing SSbD Community
The SSbD25 Conference, organized by the IRISS SSbD Community, once again served as a key meeting point for experts across Europe and beyond. Discussions emphasized the importance of collaborative research and the need for practical tools and frameworks to implement SSbD in real-world applications. BIOSAFIRE’s presence at the event contributed to this wider dialogue, reinforcing the project’s role in shaping safer and more sustainable innovation pathways.
Stay tuned for further insights from the BIOSAFIRE project!
What is BIOSAFIRE all about?
BIOSAFIRE will develop and upscale innovative products upgrading nature’s best fire retardants (FRs): lignins and tannins. To ensure that these novel products are safe and sustainable, while retaining their desired technological functionality, they will be thoroughly assessed by applying the SSbD framework at different stages of their development and the results will be iteratively fed into the further design and optimisation of the technologies. Involving the full material value chain, these flame retardants will be upscaled to TRL7 and demonstrated in five different applications.
Excited for the journey ahead and the positive impact we’ll create together!
