Common Vision and Roadmap for Formulated Products...4. Coatings and Surfaces Paints Inks and dyes Lubricants Adhesives Speciality chemicals 5. Food & Drink Food – confectionary,

Deliverable D3.1

Common Vision and Roadmap for Formulated Products

AceForm4.0

Document D3.1 Common Vision and Roadmap for Formulated Products

Lead contractor for this deliverable CPI Date 29th November 2017

Version Version 1

Dissemination Level Contract #

Public

723045

Website

Activating Value Chains for EU Leadership in FORMulation Manufacturing 4.0

Document Version Control and Management

# Version Number Change Description and Notes Date

1 Version 1 First Release to EC 29th Nov 2017

2

3

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 4

2. Key recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 4

3. Common Vision ................................................................................................................................ 4

4. Introduction – Background, Objectives and Approach ................................................................... 5

Background .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Objectives ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Approach ............................................................................................................................................. 6

5. The formulation opportunity ........................................................................................................... 7

What is a formulation? ........................................................................................................................ 7

Formulating Sectors ........................................................................................................................... 10

Transformative Drivers and associated market challenges and opportunities ................................. 11

6. Formulation and Industry 4.0 ........................................................................................................ 18

What is Industry 4.0? ......................................................................................................................... 18

Formulation community perspective ................................................................................................ 19

7. Formulation and Circular Economy ............................................................................................... 25

What is a circular economy? ............................................................................................................. 25

How does it apply to the formulating industries? ............................................................................. 26

Key cross-cutting opportunity and challenges for formulating industries ........................................ 29

8. Cross sector roadmap to cross sector 2025 vision ........................................................................ 31

5 Year Plan ......................................................................................................................................... 33

10 Year Plan ....................................................................................................................................... 35

15 Year Plan ....................................................................................................................................... 37

Advances Required in Enabling Technologies ................................................................................... 40

Alignment with other Strategic Research Agendas / Roadmaps. ...................................................... 41

Out of Scope / Further Roadmapping work needed ......................................................................... 42

Collaborative action needed.............................................................................................................. 43

Appendix A – Call text for H2020 NMBP-30-2016 competition ....................................................... 44

1. Executive Summary

To be completed

2. Key recommendations

See ‘Recommendations for Implementation and Realisation of AceForm4.0 Roadmap’ document for full detail

(deliverable D3.2).

Raise Awareness of the Formulation Opportunity

Connect and Collaborate

o Grow a map of EU innovation stakeholders aligned to innovation value chains (current and future).

o Improve access to tools for modelling complex value chain opportunities and collaborations

Increase Collaborative R&D investment into formulating sectors

o Focus on de-risking through cross-sector

o Focus on de-risking through novel life cycle and supply chain collaborations

o Increase focus on capability advancement (to complement economic and sustainability metrics).

Innovation scale-up and Infrastructure

o Pilot formulation data standard and materials database to support innovation

o Increase investment in large-scale supply chain demonstrator projects

o Increase investment in technology demonstration/innovation centres and pilot line projects.

- Improve access for SMEs

o Maintain and adopt a more strategic/coordinated approach to underpinning research (Early TRL)

Formulation Skills and Training

o Review on sector-specific basis

o Improve formulation input to digital skills initiatives.

3. Common Vision

Formulation is recognised and valued as a key contributor to EU economic growth, job creation,

sustainability and well-being.

Formulating industries embraces, adapts and identifies new ways to create value through Industry 4.0 and

the Circular Economy.

The Formulating Industries undergoes a step-change in value chain and cross sector collaboration.

Formulating industries lead in transition to more sustainable models of value creation.

Public and private uplift in R&D and innovation investment; driven by evidence of value creation through

collaboration.

Innovations in Formulation Product and Process Design drives growth in multiple high-value markets

Formulation plays an integral role in solving key global challenges

All formulating companies have an active and successful action plan for continuous improvement in

advanced formulation capabilities

SMEs with high growth potential have enhanced access to advanced capabilities via open-access facilities.

Cross sector and value chain collaborations function with minimal friction and are common place for leading

innovative companies.

4. Introduction – Background, Objectives and Approach

Background

Aceform 4.0 (Activating Value Chain for EU Leadership in Formulation Manufacturing 4.0) is a Coordination Support

Action funded by the European Commission via the Horizon 2020, NMBP Programme (Nanotechnologies, Advanced

Materials, Biotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing). The competition call (see Appendix A) was

designed to highlight and address several key issues/opportunities within the EU formulation community.

To target value creation by stimulating more cross-sector and supply chain collaborations.

To raise industry understanding and engagement with EU strategic priorities – Industry 4.0 and Circular

Economy.

To raise engagement and access to EU Research and Innovation programmes by the formulating

community.

To raise the profile of a very large, but generally undervalued and underestimated segment of the EU

manufacturing industries.

Objectives

Approach

To establish a ‘Common Vision, Roadmap for 2025 and Associated Implementation Plan’ four primary sources of

evidence were used.

i) Systematic review of existing roadmaps, strategic documents, vision paper etc.

a. Including Suschem SRA, Manufuture, UK TSB Formulation Strategy

ii) Expert knowledge from within the AceForm management and advisory board

iii) Public Consultation (phase 1 – outreach)

a. An online web-based public consultation survey – 106 responses

b. Targeted one-on-one interviews to gather deeper insight – 24* interviews (tbc)

iv) Public Consultation (phase 2 – refine/validate)

a. Targeted workshops to refine understanding

This draft document (v1 Oct 2017) provides a synthesis of evidence gathered so far, and will be used as the

foundation for ongoing (year 2) consultations (workshops, interviews, research) with a view to a final, industry-

endorsed iteration being developed by the end of the project.

Priority targets for engagement, so as to enable a balanced and robust output are:

Wider range of representatives for the Agro Technologies & Plant Protection sector

Contract Research Organisations, Consultants, Manufacturing contractors, Equipment and instrumentation

suppliers, Governmental bodies or agencies and non-governmental organisations

Organisations in southern and east European countries.

Champions of novel sustainability focussed business models (academics, SMEs, NGOs).

5. The formulation opportunity

What is a formulation? A formulation is composed of at least two incompatible ingredients which are selected, processed and combined in a specific way to obtain well-defined target properties, functionality and performance. The resulting chemical mixture delivers targeted synergistic effects and properties (performance, safety, cost optimisation, stability) beyond that of the individual components. It can exist as a liquid, semisolid, powder, solid or aerosol. A formulated product has a commercial value and is either meant for direct consumer use or for downstream use in industrial applications.

The word “formulation” can be used to refer to different things:

1) Formulation = Recipe A list of ingredients (typically >10) and detailed processing steps. 2) Formulation = The act of formulating something The combination of processes used for mixing and

conditioning of ingredients as well the application of science, know-how and technologies to enable the optimal selection of ingredients and mixing processes.

3) Formulation = The actual blend/mixture of ingredients

More than Mixing Formulation as a process is often oversimplified, e.g. to ‘mixing’, ‘blending’, ‘compounding’, ‘tabletting’ of chemicals

and ingredients. Whilst these physical acts are indeed critical to the production of formulations, there is a more

complex underpinning design process to be appreciated. Higher value formulations are typically multicomponent

and multiphase mixtures where the physical form (and in turn properties) require careful understanding and

management of complex interactions across multiple time and length scales. It is also important to recognise that

this challenge is amplified when trying to design and balance product properties for different stages (and in turn

environments) through the product life-cycle – including manufacture, packaging, storage, delivery and application.

In turn, because many formulated products are designed to change physical form (‘breakdown’) upon application

or consumption, there is a complex stability challenge to manage when compared with more conventional

materials, e.g. a composite which can deliver its primary structural function without any need to morph from its

primary solid state.

Delivering Consumer Value at Scale - Turning a ‘Formulation’ into a ‘Formulated Product’

From an industrial perspective, a ‘formulation’ becomes a ‘formulated product’ when it can be reliably and

repeatedly delivered to the target market and address a specific consumer need. Target industrial markets are

often global and so the ‘product’ must be robust to variability in the ingredient supply base, manufacturing assets

and supply chain systems and environments. There is also significant variability at the consumer end - needs, tastes,

expectations and understanding of the intended product application – are often subtle, subjective and irrational,

and as a formulator has limited scope to probe consumer needs and in turn tailor products, a key part of the

discipline is to develop a ‘best-bet’ product that serves the average of the needs of the many.

Formulating across Business Functions and Value Chains

Company functions and associated development cycles are typically structured as follows:

Whilst this flow diagram is clearly oversimplified and will vary by sector, it illustrates the point that ‘Formulation’

can be perceived as an operational silo which can function independently – chemistry goes in; recipes come out. It

is though more insightful to recognise that seemingly minor insights and tweaks, considering the development life-

cycle as a whole, can be enormously impactful towards enabling formulation innovations.

Crystal forms and particle sizes controlled at the ‘Chemistry/Discovery’ phase can enable enhanced properties of

the final formulated product – e.g. active solubility and uptake. Similarly, concurrent design of the product and the

process can enable novel structures that could enhance performance in the final product (e.g. gel structures that

minimise sedimentation) or upon manufacture (e.g. improving flowability or reducing sticking, thus enabling

simpler cleaning of process equipment).

Clearly, there are real-world barriers to this more open development system (e.g. regulatory systems for medicines

development; data access) however it is important to recognise that often the barriers are simply due to self-

imposed systems and cultures, rooted from the way we think of formulation as a business function.

Discovery / chemistry

Formulation/Product Dev.

Process Dev. Manufacture Supply chain Marketing

Formulating Sectors

Formulation provides a set of capabilities that can be applied across multiple sectors. Specific sectors and

companies will tune and focus these capabilities to the demands of their specific applications, or to the nature of

the materials they are formulating. However, there is substantial evidence that there is much scope for cross-sector

translation and co-creation.

As such, within the context of an EU cross-sector roadmap, the best approach identified is to focus around capability

advancement i.e. ‘how good are we at formulating?’ and ‘how can we get better?’ See more on this in section 6.

It is though also key to link these capability needs back to associated market drivers and innovation requirements.

The best investments in capability advancement should find an optimal balance between short-term, well-defined

business return and longer term, broad and routine application.

An in-depth analysis of the wide range of formulating sectors that this work may be relevant for, would be a

significant undertaking and so is not practical within the scope of AceForm4.0. As such, the approach taken has

been to provide an overview on 6 key sector grouping and associated subsectors.

Sector grouping Subsector

1. Home, Industrial & Personal Care Personal care – cosmetics, cleaning, well-being, perfumes

Home care – cleaning, laundry, hygiene

Industrial and Institutional cleaning

2. Pharma & Health Care Pharmaceuticals – small molecule, biologics

Healthcare – hygiene, skincare, pain relief, nutrition

Medical Devices, Diagnostics, Imaging

3. Agro Technologies & Plant Protection Crop Protection

Agrichemicals

Seed treatments

4. Coatings and Surfaces Paints

Inks and dyes

Lubricants

Adhesives

Speciality chemicals

5. Food & Drink Food – confectionary, processed foods, sauces, animal feed

Drink – alcohol, soft drinks, coffee

6. Advanced materials Composites, polymers, ceramics

Catalysts

Paper and packaging industry

Additive manufacturing

These sectors have been selected based on 2 main criteria:

i) Potential for economic impact (sector size, EU footprint, potential for growth)

ii) Potential for cross sector synergies (ingredient/materials base; current capabilities; collaboration

culture).

Each of these sectors have been analysed in sufficient detail to enable conclusions around innovation needs and to

derive capability themes. It was however not possible to provide a robust analysis of more detailed drivers affecting

specific sectors (e.g. specific chemical replacement regulations/directives).

It is though important to highlight that we would expect much of what is reported, and the subsequent translation

to capability themes to be of relevance in other sectors. In particular, significant interest should arise in emerging

high value applications sectors - e.g. energy storage, electronics, cell therapies – where the formulation base is less

established.

Transformative Drivers and associated market challenges and opportunities

i) Sustainability and Circular Economy

Drivers Home,

Industrial & personal Care

Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant

Protection

Coatings & Surfaces

Food & drink Advanced Materials

Regulations more

circular

X (bio-

based/renewable/natural,

reduced plastic waste, fewer ingredients)

X (e.g. non-toxic to wildlife)

X (bio-based, VOC

reduction, recyclability, longer life,

products that enable modern

built environment)

X (bio-based,

recyclability, longer life,


built environment)

Growing consumer demands

more circular

X

X (e.g. non-toxic to wildlife)

X (bio-based, VOC

reduction, recyclability, longer life,


built environment)

X (minimize food

waste, from green house gas

intensive livestock to plant based and sysnthetic)

Products for novel

transportation and

renewable energy

X (e.g. self cleaning; cooling,

electrical conductive)

X

(e.g. light weight)

Similar demand for

products enabling resource efficiency

through full life cycle

X

Drive for more

resource efficient

manufacturing

processes and

reduction of waste

materials

X (support to

product developme

nt andclinical

trials)

X

ii) Digitalisation and Industry 4.0

Drivers/sectors Home,


Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant

Protection

Coatings & Surfaces

Food & drink

Advanced Materials

Increasing expectation and opportunity to

engage and delight customers via digital

channels

X X X X X

Increasing ability to monitor and manage performance- from produce to service

offering

X

X (move to

more preventativ

e to and closed-loop

health models)

X X X

Increasing demand for materials to

enable digitalisation and the internet of

things

X X

Online commerce driving need to design products

robust to alternative supply chains

X

iii) Globalisation

Drivers/sectors Home,


Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant

Protection

Coatings & Surfaces

Food & drink Advanced Materials

Access to new and developing markets

driving more regional production and supply chains

X X X X X X

Need for new cost structures, business models and faster

development cycles to bring product to

market

X

Global supply chains compromise ability to ensure security

and quality

X

iv) Society

Drivers Home,


Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant

Protection

Coatings and Surfaces

Food & Drink

Advanced Materials

Solutions needed to support ageing

population X

X (new

therapies for chronic neurological diseases)

X

Growing middle class demanding for

specialised products

X (personaliz

ed medicines)

X (healthier

foods, reduced

salt, sugar, fat,

increased nutrients,

natural preservativ

es)

Growing middle class demanding for preventative

treatments to promote wellness

X

Regulations driving needs to reformulate

medicines for peadatric and elderly

populations

X

Solutions needed for increasingly

sedentary life styles X X

Solutions needed to support increased urbanisation and

Smart cities

X

e.g. sensors)

X (e.g. sensors)

Growing global population increases

demand for more food/higher yields

from fewer resorurces

X

AceForm4.0 Activating Value Chains for EU Leadership in FORMulation Manufacturing 4.0

AceForm4.0 Deliverable D3.1 and D3.2 14 page

v) Technology

Drivers Home,


Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant

Protection


Food & Drink

Advanced Materials

Promising novel ingredients and

production methods through Synthetic

Biology

X X

Promising novel ingredients and

production methods through Industrial

Biotechnology

X X X

Biotech / DNA profiling enabling

stratified and personalised

medicines

X

Nanotechnology enabling new drug delivery systems

X

Microelectronics / printed electronics,

additive manufacture enabling novel

devices and packaging

X X X X X X

GM technologies present potential for dramatic reduction

in need for formulation technologies

X

Biopesticides X

Emerging biotech presents potential for synthetic food

substitutes (e.g. Milk, meat).

X



Business and Technical Challenges

Drivers Home, Industrial & personal Care

Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant

Protection


Food & Drink

Advanced Materials

Constrained R&D budgets and CAPEX investment cycles

x x x x

Culture of low risk toward innovation

x x x

Need to accelerate development cycles (see

‘Value of Speed’ diagram)

x x x x

Need to assure performance / stability

in new product families/classes

x x x x x

Capturing value in novel supply chains / business models / collaboration

models.

x x x x

Retaining and developing skills base

x x x x x x

Traditional ‘big pharma’ business model is

becoming unsustainable.

x

Need to move to more flexible production of smaller batches, via

more continuous processes, requiring new

capabilities and challenging existing

regulatory framework.

x

Established culture of formulation as an

enabler needs rebalancing to enhance

R&D investment.

x

Need to be more collaborative to lever innovations from an

increasingly distributed innovation ecosystem.

x

High volume, low margin -> very constrained R&D

budgets

x

Culture of innovation focused on incremental,

short term impacts

x



Current solutions / Innovation Support (Public/Private)

Drivers Home,


Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant Protection


Food & Drink Advanced Materials

Well established development processes and infrastructures (large companies)

But centred on routine development

Radical innovation constrained

Onus on suppliers and universities with limited incentive. x x x x x

Limited supply of skills, technology and capabilities for innovative SMEs. x x x x

Reasonable access to National and EU Innovation support programmes (But mainly focussed on bio-based ingredients base. Not always obvious that formulations are in scope for many calls.) x x Reasonable access to National and EU Innovation support programmes

- But mainly focussed on nano-ingredient base.

- Not always obvious that formulations are in scope for many calls.) x

Reasonable access to National and EU Innovation support

programmes, but mainly focussed on bio-ingredient

base or niche materials (e.g. graphene). Not always obvious that formulations are in scope

for many calls. x x

Limited access to National and EU Innovation support

programmes x



Summary (needs updating)

Home,


Pharma & Healthcare

Agro tech & Plant

Protection


Food & drink

Advanced Materials

Drivers

Sustainability H L H H M H

Digitalisation H H H M M M

Globalisation H H M H H H

Societal H H H M H M

Technology M H M M L M

Business and Technical

challenges

R&D / Innovation

capacity M M M M L M

Investment capacity

M M H M L M

Knowledge & skills base

H M H M M M

Innovation culture

H M H H H H

Collaboration / open

Innovation agility

M M M M L M

Current solutions

Access to EU and national

R&D / strategies

M M L M L H

Networks / Partnering

H M M M M M

Skills / training H H H M M M

Infrastructure funds

M M L L L M



6. Formulation and Industry 4.0

What is Industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0 is the promise of a 4th Industrial Revolution, in which the integration of various digitalisation

technologies (existing and emerging) will enable advanced capabilities to connect, model and automate design,

manufacturing and supply chains systems. Thereby delivering products, processes and services – faster, more

efficiently and more flexibility.

The exact list of specific digitalisation technologies varies by source, but the two slides below provide complete

coverage.

Credit to Siemens.



Credit to LCR4.0.

Formulation community perspective

From the early phases of the Aceform stakeholder consultation it was concluded that the formulation community

had a rather limited appreciation of industry 4.0 and how it might be relevant.



However, upon closer examination it was clear that most of the underpinning digitalisation technologies were of

active interest. This discrepancy suggests that technologies are being applied in silos with very specific application

and benefits in mind, and in turn the bigger-picture benefits of industry 4.0 are being missed.

Scope for Aceform 4.0

The most commonly accepted implementation strategy of industry 4.0, is best illustrated by the Airbus digital

factory implementation strategy. In essence, the factory is the starting point and digitalisation technologies enable

and exploit ‘vertical integration’ i.e. all levels of the factory operation are connected, interoperable etc.

Credit to airbus



In order to achieve a flexible digital vertical integration (and also within the whole value chains) will require more

flexible software architectures in the future as today’s legacy systems, which in many cases follow, e.g., the ISA-95

pyramid, are rather stale and hard to change or adapt without extensive effort and costs. The future digital flexibility

will require new thinking and architectures/frameworks such as, e.g., RAMI4.0 as well as increasing use of cloud

technologies or similar.

In this respect, there is nothing unique with regard to manufacturing in the formulating industries, and indeed the

issues/opportunities and guidance for action are best captured elsewhere (e.g. manufutures). There are some

limitations though in that it is difficult to imagine any major value and/or practicality of applying AR/VR and additive

manufacturing technologies to the production of dynamic, chemical mixtures.

Next, ‘Horizontal integration’ introduces the principle that connection, data sharing and automation can extend

beyond the factory. By considering and managing the product offering through the whole-life cycle, much more

value can be derived. However, this case study and many others like it, is built around the development of aircrafts

and associated highly sophisticated bespoke factories and so doesn’t translate particularly well to formulating

industries. So where Airbus talk about upstream ‘engineering’ a better theme here might be ‘feedstocks’,

‘ingredients’, ‘discovery’ or ‘product design’, but in essence a shared principle applies in that Industry 4.0 presents

the opportunity for insights and connections across these traditionally separate development phases to feed each

other. Similarly, downstream ‘in-service’ (which would probably work better for formulation industry as ‘consumer

experience’ and/or ‘supply chain’) presents a much underexploited opportunity to connect, model and automate

the whole product life cycle to inform design, development, manufacture and delivery.

It is important to emphasise that the industry 4.0 approaches, enabling horizontal and vertical integration, to inform

and manage production, can also be applied to other commercial functions e.g. marketing and logistics. Again, the

issues and opportunities presented here are not unique to the formulating industries and so will not be explored in

more detail in this report.

So what is special about formulation and industry 4.0?

Unlike aircrafts or cars, formulated products are typically produced in very large volumes, have fast innovation

cycles (often months) with high levels of product differentiation, and generally do their job by deforming (changing

structure) at just the right time, under just the right conditions. E.g, chocolate melting on your tongue; paint

spreading on a wall. They are also produced from chemical feedstocks that can be highly variable in their

composition from batch to batch. As such, formulated products are generally designed and delivered to an average

user case and environment, and with limitations on access to relevant data to inform design decisions. Therefore

the scenarios where product quality is compromised can be unpredictable e.g. regional differences in water

hardness can effective detergent performance, or an unseasonable rainstorm can wash away and negate the effect

of a fungicide on a farmer’s field.

However, the promised of industry 4.0 and in particular horizontal integration, presents a radical opportunity for

formulated product design, development, manufacture and delivery to be a fully integrated, data-rich and

autonomous process, connecting all parts of the product life-cycle.



By harnessing Industry 4.0 technologies, designers can deliver better effects, predictable performance and

resource efficient processes by levering more insights and value from data, knowledge and know-how relating

materials science / chemistry / physical processes to final product applications and associated target physical

attributes.

Taking the industry 4.0 concept to its logical conclusion, the future of crop protection could see local micro

‘factories’ preparing bespoke formulation for weekly applications, based on intelligent analysis of various data

sources (weather conditions, land topography, crop condition, availability of ingredient intermediates).

Applications would then be made by autonomous drone (or land based robot), minimising waste and drift through

precision application. This drone would concurrently be collating data to inform future designs and applications

e.g. data showing that a particular batch of ingredients correlated with increased levels of spray nozzle blockages,

could be fed back to ingredient suppliers or formulation designer to resolve. Data and learning generated from

around the world, can then be processed to inform bigger picture future developments.

As such, the big opportunity for industry 4.0 and formulation is to break-down the walls between lab, factory and

field, or along the development supply chain, to take a systems based approach to product design, production and

delivery.

It is however important to highlight some key barriers that the formulation community must overcome through a

coordinated and focussed approach.

A step-change is requires for greater access and sharing of data currently segmented across a risk adverse

supply chain.

Formulation performance/failure mechanisms are not well understood (rooted in subtle nano/micro

phenomena; often product specific) and so i4.0 may create more data and levers, but without any

underpinning insights as to how/when to use them.

Formulations are inherently unstable. ‘Good’ is only a point in time. As such, stability predictions over

time can be unreliable.

There is no standard for describing formulations or structuring data. This limits the ability to apply novel

data approaches and codify knowledge.



Target properties are generally difficult to reduce to a target measure/physical attribute; as such it will

continue to be difficult to make a meaningful quality measurement.

Most formulating sectors are constrained to bear the cost of new technologies.

Deepdive on Digitalisation Technologies and Formulation

In the previously section, it is presented that the biggest benefit of industry 4.0 approaches, is the combination of

the associated digitalisation technologies, to enable a radical life cycle, systems approach to product and process

design. It is however useful to consider the underpinning individual digitalisation technologies so as to highlight

the priority applications for shorter-term benefits. Similarly, ‘barriers to adoption’ are captured to help stimulate

further developments.

Perceived Benefits in Formulation Perceived barriers to adoption in Formulation

Additive Manufacturing

Potential for late stage differentiation and local smaller batch products e.g. tablets in medicines; confectionary

In practice, existing technologies look constrained – generally printing 2-3 ingredients, to solid state final form. May be more appropriate to talk about continuous processing technologies.

Robotics Automation for high throughput laboratory experimentation. Automation for future manufacturing platforms (flexible, adaptive)

Cost is still prohibitively high for most companies.

IoT and Cloud Cloud and IoT will enable data capture and sharing to unlock systems approach to learning through the product development life-cycle.

E.g. Enables learning and real time optimisation of engine oils

E.g. In service monitoring and data capture -> new business models – use AkzoNobel use of shipping data.

Cost effective development and deployment of sensors. Data security.

Data Analytics Existing data analytics technologies can be more widely applied in lab and plant to gain insights, make decisions optimise processes.

Skills gap and limited access to well-structured/curated data.

Autonomous systems Potential to embedded intelligence to automate routine decisions e.g. process optimisation. Longer term, potential to apply advanced AI to resolve complex design problems.

Skills gap and limited access to well-structured / curated data. Question around return on value.

VR/AR Can be used to provide training and support maintenance activities as well as make standard/routine work more fun (in order to raise the quality of work

Lack of knowledge and technology infrastructure



and avoid forgetting things due to boreness).

Simulation/modelling Physical material modelling and statistical performance / process data is key accelerating product and process development. Formulation design to be more predictive.

Skills gap and cost of application.



7. Formulation and Circular Economy

What is a circular economy?

Looking beyond the current "take, make and dispose” extractive industrial model, the circular economy is restorative

and regenerative by design. Relying on system-wide innovation, it aims to redefine products and services to design

waste out, while minimising negative impacts as well as energy consumption. Underpinned by a transition to

renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural and social capital.

Credit: Ellen Mcarthur foundation



How does it apply to the formulating industries?

Formulation community perspective

From the early phases of the Aceform stakeholder consultation it was concluded that the formulation community

has a reasonable appreciation of the Circular Economy and how it might be relevant.

However, on closer analysis, as per Industry 4.0, there was less awareness as to implementation strategies and

most parties associated better with themes aligned to their own stages of the product life-cycle, e.g. process

intensification, sustainability, green technologies, bio-materials.





Given the diversity of formulating industries and related products, services and supply chains, it is difficult to

identify clear areas of cross-over to focus collaborations. There are though some distinctive features which should

be highlighted.

Consumable Formulations (For sectors 1, 2, 3 and 5)

By value, most formulated products are designed to be consumed. That is, in the process of delivering

effects (or ‘doing its job’) the formulation’s constituent ingredients return to biological cycles. E.g. a

shower gel goes down the drain, mayonnaise is eaten, an agrichemical is sprayed onto a field, a skin

cream is absorbed.

It therefore the perception of large parts of the formulating community, that the Circular Economy may

be less relevant to them. i.e. it is counter-intuitive to build technical cycles that maximise intrinsic

material value where the product is a consumable.

As such, it is perhaps unsurprising that there was more natural association with ‘Green’ and

‘Sustainability’ as pertaining to areas relating to the ingredients base and/or process technologies.

However, this doesn’t mean that Circular Economy principles can’t be applied (within reason).

It is also important to highlight that a broader life cycle consideration should be taken and this will create

many in-direct opportunities for value creation, where better formulation is needed.

There is however a wider product life cycle, and in turn market opportunity, to consider. Within, home

and personal care, for shower gels and washing powders, the major opportunity to reduce impact on

natural resources is to drive down the use of energy to heat water. As such, this presents a potential

opportunity for re-formulation (e.g. biological formulations – see P&G).

For the food sector, similar analysis often shows that the major issue is the creation of packaging waste.

Whilst not a formulation challenge per se, this does open up an opportunity and need to reformulation

products to enable more efficient use of packaging materials e.g. concentrates -> smaller packs. Or

longer life food formulation reduce the need for complex barrier materials.

For the medicines sector, a similar issues arises where complex devices, engineered to deliver therapies,

create highly complicated waste streams. Concurrent development of the product and the devices, can

lead to better devices that are easier to recover, reuse or recycle.

Non-consumable Formulations (sectors 4 and 6)

For these products it is much clearer to see how CE thinking can be applied directly to the inherent

product profile, particularly towards maximisation of material value. E.g. a long life coating, using as few

materials as possible is a good thing.

Again, as per consumables, there is a natural association with ‘Green’ and ‘Sustainability’ as pertaining to

ingredients base and/or process technologies.

But unlike consumables, this is an area where the formulated product is actually a

technologies/component of a bigger system and so can enable bigger, indirect CE benefits

o E.g. more efficient lubricants leads to more efficient wind turbines

And also there is more scope for recover, recycling and remanufacture.

o E.g. paints can be formulated to enable better recycling (particularly of value where there are an

estimated xm litres of decorate paints in UK shed).



Key cross-cutting opportunity and challenges for formulating industries

Access to tools to support identification of CE opportunities

Whilst grouping sectors into ‘consumable’ and ‘non-consumable’ categories helps to identify CE opportunities that

may be common across sectors, it is not possible within the scope of this report to robustly map the many relevant

product life-cycles toward the identification of business opportunities that could be derived from CE principles.

However, a clear theme from the Aceform consultation was that companies traditionally tackled sustainability

issues from within their silos of the product life-cycle and from a linear view point.

As such, a more holistic and potentially value adding systems approach is under-exploited.

This however, requires better access to relevant tools and resources.

As such, there is a clear need for raised awareness and better access to mechanisms and tools

i) to perform life cycle analysis

ii) to share associated data securely and collaborate with supply chain partners

iii) to consider novel business models

iv) to manage/model future value chains.

Early adopters of CE principles are typically larger companies with sufficient resources to access and develop

these tools, however there is a significant cost barrier for smaller companies. It is also important to highlight that

there will be an increasing need for shared access and application across multiple interrelated supply chain

collaborations. In addition, an improved use of side streams or bi-products – which may not even be considered

today – can improve the exchange of raw materials as well as boost profitability.

Below are some examples/case studies of the types of tools that would be in scope.

Example 1 – AkzoNobel decorative paints (to be completed)



Example 2 - Forum for the Future Circular Business Model toolkit

www.forumforthefuture.org/project/circular-economy-business-model-toolkit/overview

Example 3 – Doughnut Economics (to be completed)

http://www.forumforthefuture.org/project/circular-economy-business-model-toolkit/overview



8. Cross sector roadmap to cross sector 2025 vision

In the previous sections multiple business and market drivers (including Circular Economy) have been identified, all

of which signal the growing need and opportunity for the development of new formulated products. Whilst there

is a wide spectrum of applications, chemistries and associated technology opportunities (including Industry 4.0),

three clear themes emerge.

1. Product development cycles are expected to accelerate

2. More radical innovation is required

3. Increased variability of inputs and outputs is required.

These themes point to cross-cutting issues that today’s formulation development toolkit will not be fit for purpose

to meet the business and societal challenges over the coming decade.

To provide clarity on the scope of this roadmap, it is important to highlight that necessary advancements, requires

a holistic consideration of six stages in the formulation life-cycle, all of which are inter-related and have an

underappreciated impact on final product and performance. Through a more systems-based approaches to

formulation development and production, significant step-change advances will be possible in formulation

capabilities and innovation.

1. Ingredients

2. Mixture (often viewed at the formulation)

3. Process

4. Delivery - Storage/transportation/device e.g. pack, lorry, shelf, injection, spray

5. Application e.g. wetting, delivery, heat transfer

6. Subject e.g. skin, leaf, engine

In turn, looking across sectors there are also then three common high-level capability themes (closely aligned to

industry 4.0 principles) against which companies can chart status and progression of capability.

1. Quantification – all aspects of the formulation life-cycle should be reduced to numbers or numerical

models.

2. Connection – data should be generated through all stages of the formulation life-cycle and captured

centrally. Associated integrated control capabilities should also be in place.

3. Embed multiscale modelling – truly predictive design capability will only be realised by bridging

material/structure-property relationship models across time/length-scales and across the formulation

life-cycle.

4. Embed intelligence – systems should be developed to codify ‘expert’ human intelligence so as to

automate routine decision making and artificial intelligence to enable better resolution (advanced

empiricism) of intractable design problems.



Current status/capability against these themes varies by sector and application but below is a map of an average

cross-sector perspective.

Ingredients Mixture Process Delivery Application Subject

Quantification

Ingredients are largely described using i) word models (name and promised effect e.g. thickener) ii) intrinsic properties iii) key basic molecular structures. These provides useful starting point for ingredient selection and handling/process strategies; however they do not account for subtle variability in composition and structure often relating to local feedstocks and production. A more structure focussed and standardised QC approach is needed to differentiate/qualify ingredients.

As per ingredients, common practice is to characterisation formulations by word models (bulk and micro structure) and a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic physical and chemical properties. These approaches are constrained by local variance in how they are derived and interpreted. A further challenge is that there is even less consistency around how to move to a quantitative description of intermediate and dynamic nano and microstructure structures.

Significant advances have been made in recent years in the ability to describe processes quantitatively. Specifically, this is concerned with modelling process hardware operations and associated physical environments created (temp, pressure, shear), However, this capability is not widely deployed and is of limited value without equivalent advances in characterising the mixture which is sensitive to process environments.

Capabilities exist to enable quantification of delivery environments – e.g. sensors for temp, pressure, humidity, or robust physics based models. They are however not deployed widely, and usually provide an average.

Decades of sector specific industrial experience has generally led to representative quantification of application scenarios. However, these operate typically to an average and so miss subtle differences in application scenarios. Also, there remains scope for a more sophisticated /scientific approach to enable accelerated/less labour intensive screening. Particularly for sensorial effects.

Subjects range from the very simple e.g. a metal surface to be coated; to the very complex e.g. human digestive system (food, medicines). In general, there are limits to our ability to quantify the very complex, however there is still scope to better lever available ‘best-bet’ data to inform formulation design.

Connection Availability and connectivity of data relating to ingredients, formulation and process is sporadic. Multiple data sets (theoretical, experimental, plant, QC, commercial) are held across multiple sites and systems; with sharing constrained by commercial/proprietary boundaries, a lack of data standards and gaps in placement of sensors. This will require a greater flexibility of all software systems

Similar issues arise for access to key downstream life-cycle data to support product/process development. In addition, existing data sources (e.g. storage environments) require better integration; and systems for smart monitoring of condition/performance (ideally in real time) need to be created.



that are integrated in the future as many of today’s production/automation systems software are too stale integration-wise and hard to change without a great effort and cost.

Embed multiscale modelling

The ability to conduct truly predictive design can only come from mechanistic formulation/materials structure-property understanding. Pockets of leading modelling expertise are accessible for different scales – through atomistic, molecular, microscopic, meso- and macroscale – but very little progress has been made to connect learning across scales. There are also limitations where models are built around oversimplified/idealised systems as they are typically applied on ad-hoc basis for business critical trouble-shooting or driven by academic curiosity (not that this is a bad thing!). Where more robust industry-relevant models have been developed, these tends to have drawn on many years of learning around a core product family/ingredient set (e.g. tablets, well-known ice-cream, paint brands). In turn, there is limited industrial capability to systematically enhance modelling capability, e.g. using real-world/and day to day development data for validation; and dissemination (via practical user-friendly tools) across the product development life-cycle.

Embed Intelligence

Aside from basic use of lab-based expert systems and limited use of process control software to redlight when processes are moving out of specification, there is very little use of advanced software to direct product / process design and management. Emerging opportunities around artificial intelligence are no where to be seen as we don’t have the data structured or clarity on what questions to through at it.

5 Year Plan

Priority Activities/Projects

Activity Public:private split

Key support Mechanisms

Quantification

Start to build a universal ontology for describing industrial formulation architectures from molecules to macrostructures.

80:20 RIs

Pilot an open-access materials database to support formulation design from structure-property relationships.

80:20 RIs

Pilot an open-access standard for formulation design/development operations.

70:30 RIs

Increase research to translate between target performance effect and quantifiable attributes.

De-risk by initially focussing on simpler systems

60:40 RIs

Develop better science-based performance application screens based on research above.

De-risk by initially focussing on applications where outputs could be usefully applied to multiple products.

50:50 CR&D / ICs

Connection

Move to paperless management systems for lab, pilot facilities and manufacturing systems.

20:80 ICs



Pilot/develop capability to integrate data management systems across environments

De-risk by starting internal – e.g. connecting labs with pilot facilities at same site; or labs across site And/or de-risk by providing case studies and proving capability at open-access innovation centres.

20:80 ICs

Engage all formulation life-cycle stakeholders, to develop trust and start to map data sharing guiding principles (review data types, needs, constraints).

50:50 Networks; ICs

Identify, develop and prove quick wins to access in-process data and in-use (e.g. existing soft sensors or in-line QC) to aid product development.

50:50 CR&D; ICs; RIs

Integrate and prove value of best-bet novel process sensors at pilot scale.

De-risk by providing case studies and proving capability at open-access innovation centres.

60:40 CR&D; ICs

Demonstrate enhanced design/experimental capability through digital connection across 2-3 environments.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

Increase research toward novel sensors for wide deployment (process and in-use) – cost effective, non-disruptive, energy efficient.

70:30 RIs; CR&D; ICs

Re-focus development of novel measurement capability towards measurement systems that translate and create complementary insights/data across learning environments and control systems.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

Maintain development of novel process ‘make’ capabilities (e.g. -> continuous) but re-direct more effort to create associated Process Analytical Technologies toolkit development, prioritising areas of multi-party application.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

De-risk uptake of available characterisation and automation (experimental) capabilities through open-access centres.

70:30 CR&D; ICs; Outreach

Fill gaps in automated (HT) experimental capabilities – e.g. Solids, small volumes



Improve access to existing material modelling tools; grow case studies of useful industrial applications.

70:30 Networks; ICs; Outreach

Grow investment in underpinning materials / mechanistic understanding, with increased focus to prioritise complex industrially relevant systems, with material phenomena/failure modes likely to be transferrable across multiple products and sectors.

80:20 RIs

Increase research and capability development to support material modelling across time and length scales for real world products in industrial environments.

80:20 RIs

Develop methodologies for translating academic models for industrial applications.

50:50 RIs; ICs

Develop advanced experimental tools to enhance capability to validate models (e.g. v. high throughput, precision environmental control)

50:50 RIs; ICs; CR&D



Develop and prove multiscale modelling-enabled predictive design capability

De-risk with focus on well-known systems or common application (e.g. stability).


Embed Intelligence

De-risk access to available process control tools. 70:30 Networks; outreach; ICs

Codify ‘expert’ human intelligence through expert systems / standard protocols etc.

Prove on limited systems e.g. single product range.

0:100 none

Educate on the concept and explore value of artificial intelligence.


Trial knowledge creation through AI approaches on low risk robust offline data-sets

80:20 RIs

Overarching benefits and Impact

Early case studies prove potential to introduce step-change capability to support future market demands

(including personalisation, local/distributed production, radical reformulation) and digital flexibility.

Proves ability to accelerate product development through investment in capability that:

o Enables predictive design by levering mechanistic understanding

o Enable learning and experimentation across multiple locations / environments

Lowers risk for future R&T investment by proving value across multiple products and sectors

Strengthens collaborative culture and establish foundations/boundaries for data sharing eco-system.

Democratises access to foundational formulation capabilities

10 Year Plan


Activity Public :private split


Quantification

Extend scope and complexity of universal ontology for describing industrial formulation architectures from molecules to macrostructures.

80:20 RIs

Extend scope of open-access materials database to support formulation design from structure-property relationships.

80:20 RIs

Extend scope of open-access standard for formulation design/development operations.

70:30 RIs

Continue research to translate between target performance effect and quantifiable attributes.

Increased complexity of simpler systems

60:40 RIs

Continue to develop better science-based performance application screens based on research above.

Start to internalise best options as standard development capabilities.

40:60 CR&D / ICs



Connection

Complete transition to paperless management systems for lab, pilot facilities and manufacturing systems.

20:80 ICs

Extend and prove capability to integrate data management systems across multiple environments

Multiple functions; multi-locations; internal and external

20:80 ICs

Develop case studies to access post-factory data – storage, in application

50:50 CR&D, ICs

Extend engagement on data sharing with all formulation life-cycle stakeholders

Prove ability to securely share data for win:win value creation. Develop thinking on new value sharing models.

50:50 Networks; ICs; CR&D

Prove ability for enhanced real-time process characterisation through multiplexing of measures (across soft sensors, in-line QC, advanced metrology).


Adopt novel process sensors to support routine development across pilot scale and full scale manufacture

20:80 CR&D; ICs

Demonstrate enhanced design/experimental capability through digital connection across 4+ environments.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

Industrialise best-bet/greater good toolkit for novel sensors for wide deployment (process and in-use) – cost effective, non-disruptive, energy efficient.


Prove value of novel measurement systems that translate and create complementary insights/data across learning environments and control systems.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

Continue to develop novel process ‘make’ capabilities (e.g. -> continuous) but re-direct more effort to create associated Process Analytical Technologies toolkit development, prioritising areas of multi-party application.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

Continue to de-risk uptake of available characterisation and automation (experimental) capabilities through open-access centres.


Continue to fill gaps in automated (HT) experimental capabilities – e.g. Solids, small volumes



Maintain access to existing material modelling tools; grow case studies of useful industrial applications.


On-going investment in underpinning materials / mechanistic understanding, with increased focus to prioritise complex industrially relevant systems, with material phenomena/failure modes likely to be transferrable across multiple products and sectors. Industry increasingly bearing cost and research becomes more targeted to specific needs.

60:40 RIs

Maintain research and capability development to support material modelling across time and length scales for real world products in industrial environments.

60:40 RIs

Mainstream methodologies for translating academic models for industrial applications.

30:70 RIs; ICs



Continue to develop, and begin to mainstream, advanced experimental tools to enhance capability to validate models (e.g. v. high throughput, precision environmental control)


Continue to develop, and begin to mainstream, multiscale modelling-enabled predictive design capability

Extend scope to less well-known systems and niche application.


Embed Intelligence

Mainstream application of available process control tools for key operations.

30:70 CR&D; ICs

Continue codification of ‘expert’ human intelligence through expert systems / standard protocols etc. Extend scope (e.g. multiple products, formulation types).

0:100 none

Develop system to plug AI capability into established internal formulation development life-cycle. Focus on case studies to provide insights on highly complex problems, intractable through 1st principles.

50:50 RIs, CR&D, ICs

Continue to trial knowledge creation through AI approaches on offline data-sets (increasingly structured; complex and business critical).


Overarching benefits / Impact

Broad industry application of step-change capabilities enhances ability to meet future market demands

(including personalisation, local/distributed production, radical reformulation).

Improved digital flexibility and integration through large parts of value chains.

Accelerated product development through investment in capability that:


o Enable learning and experimentation across multiple locations / environments (mainly still across

research and manufacturing environments)

o Enables enhanced knowledge capture (‘all activity -> learning’)

o Enables formulation to an end-point (not just a recipe)

Uplift in R&T investment based on strong business cases linked to tangible benefits.

New value chains and business models forming, founded on enhanced collaborative culture and data

sharing eco-system.

Strengthening of SME pipeline through democratised access to foundational formulation capabilities

15 Year Plan


Activity Public :private split


Quantification

Complete universal ontology for describing industrial formulation architectures from molecules to macrostructures.

80:20 RIs



Mainstream open-access materials database to support formulation design from structure-property relationships.

80:20 RIs

Mainstream open-access standard for formulation design/development operations.

70:30 RIs

Continue research to translate between target performance effect and quantifiable attributes. Standard practice for all new applications.

30:70 RIs

Continue to develop better science-based performance application screens based on research above.

Internalise suite of screens as standard development capabilities. Generic/transferrable learnings starting to become open-access.

40:60 CR&D / ICs

Connection

Continued maintenance and upgrades to paperless management systems for lab, pilot facilities and manufacturing systems.

10:90 ICs

Digital flexibility and integration within whole value chains.

Complete integration of data management systems across multiple environments

Multiple functions; multi-locations; internal and external

10:90 ICs

Mainstream capability to access post-factory data – storage, in application

Consolidate terms of engagement on data sharing with all formulation life-cycle stakeholders

Routinely share data securely for win:win:win value creation.

50:50 Networks; ICs; CR&D

Mainstream ability for enhanced real-time process characterisation through multiplexing of measures (across soft sensors, in-line QC, advanced metrology).


Mainstream novel process sensors to support routine development across pilot scale and full scale manufacture

10:90 CR&D; ICs

Routinely demonstrate enhanced design/experimental capability through digital connection across 4+ environments.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

Mainstream industrial deployment of toolkit for novel sensors for wide deployment (process and in-use) – cost effective, non-disruptive, energy efficient.


Routine demonstration of value of novel measurement systems that translate and create complementary insights/data across learning environments and control systems.

40:60 CR&D; ICs

Continue to develop novel process ‘make’ capabilities (e.g. -> continuous) but re-direct more effort to create associated Process Analytical Technologies toolkit development, prioritising areas of multi-party application.

50:50 CR&D; ICs

Continue to de-risk uptake of available characterisation and automation (experimental) capabilities through open-access centres. Industry bearing more of the cost as de-risked.


Continue to fill gaps in automated (HT) experimental capabilities – tbc.





Material modelling tools broadly internalised in routine formulation development cycle.


On-going investment in underpinning materials / mechanistic understanding, with increased focus to prioritise complex industrially relevant systems, with material phenomena/failure modes likely to be transferrable across multiple products and sectors. Industry increasingly bearing cost and research becomes more targeted to specific needs.

60:40 RIs

Maintain research and capability development to support material modelling across time and length scales for real world products in industrial environments.

60:40 RIs

Mainstream methodologies for translating academic models for industrial applications.

30:70 RIs; ICs

Mainstream advanced experimental tools to enhance capability to validate models (e.g. v. high throughput, precision environmental control)


Mainstream multiscale modelling-enabled predictive design capability into routine development cycles.


Embed Intelligence

Mainstream application of available process control tools for all new operations.

20:80 CR&D; ICs

Complete codification of ‘expert’ human intelligence through expert systems / standard protocols etc. (all products, formulation types).

0:100 none

Extend scope of system to plug AI capability into established internal formulation development life-cycle. Focus on case studies to provide insights on highly complex problems, intractable through 1st principles.


Continue to demonstrate knowledge creation through AI approaches on offline data-sets (increasingly structured; complex and business critical).


Overarching benefits / Impact

Industrial application of step-change capabilities now starting to be democratised across all parts of

formulating industries; proven ability to meet future market demands (including personalisation,

local/distributed production, radical reformulation).

Flexibility and integratability of production and automation systems through whole value chains.

Further acceleration of product development through investment in capability that:


o Enable learning and experimentation across multiple locations / environments (now Research,

Manufacturing, Delivery, Storage and Application)

o Enables enhanced knowledge capture (‘all activity -> learning’)

o Enables formulation to an end-point (not just a recipe)

o Enables AI to automate and help resolve highly complex problems.

o Minimal experimentation and scale-up; potential for full in-silico design from 1st principles.

Uplift in R&T investment based on strong business cases linked to tangible benefits.



New value chains and business models become mainstream, founded on enhanced collaborative culture

and data sharing eco-system.

Rebalanced SME pipeline through democratised access to formulation capabilities

Advances Required in Enabling Technologies

In the previous section, themes and activities have been identified and ordered to provide a roadmap to enable

‘big picture’ benchmarking (sector/application agnostic) and guide pragmatic steps to advance industrial

formulation capabilities. This roadmapping exercise generally focusses on actions where integration and validation

(of knowledge, technologies, systems) is required. There is however also a requirement to make more specific

advances to the specific underpinning technologies that make up the formulation toolkit. The continued

investment and expertise required to make the necessary advancements will come largely from the associated

vendors, there is however an increased need for earlier supply chain collaboration to de-risk development and

improve chances of adoption.

Needs, interests, innovation capacity and timescales vary significantly by sector and company, but there are 4 key

themes under which common advances can be prioritised – Material, Make, Measure and Model. It is difficult to

put a timescale on advancement against these themes, but in general proportionate progress should be targeted

in line with the 15 year timeframe set out in the previous section.

Material technologies

In this context, this is essentially about the development on novel ingredients or materials structures to deliver a

specific functionalities or attributes.

Smart and multifunctional

Sustainable ingredients (including bio-based, bio-derived, biodegradable).

Nano/micro structured delivery technologies (e.g. microcapsules, nanoparticles).

Make technologies

The ability to engineer formulation structures at experimental and manufacturing scales.

Smaller, faster, continuous – particularly for HT experimental platforms or mixers/reactors for more

flexible / localised manufacture.

Resource efficient – e.g. applying novel means of generating and putting energy into a system (e.g.

ultrasonics).

Precision process environments – i.e. better control over key processing parameters (geometry, pressure,

dosage, temperature, shear) to enable better physical simulation, flexible processing and novel

formulation structures (e.g. nano).

Simplification for integration into automated platforms.



Measure technologies

The ability to characterise a formulation, ingredients and intermediate structures.

Inline, at-line, online – cost effective, non-disruptive, real-time, robust, integrated (IoT).

Multiplexing – to resolve highly complex, often opaque, dynamic systems.

Nanostructures – greater resolution needed

Simplification for integration into automated platforms.

Model technologies

The ability to codify and extrapolate i) material structure-property relationships and ii) statistical input/output

relationships (recipes, processes and application tests).

Simplification for interoperability.

Advances in data assimilation and visualisation

Simplification of user interfaces for non-experts

Alignment with other Strategic Research Agendas / Roadmaps.

The Aceform roadmap has been developed with a target of identifying common themes and priorities across

multiple sectors. As, such it is unsurprisingly that the scope of this roadmap has been designed to be

complementary and additive to several related roadmaps / SRAs. The Aceform roadmap is unique in that it

addresses capability stepping stones across the formulating industries, and isn’t constrained to (or immersed in the

detail of) specific materials, technologies, applications or grand challenges. Instead, it asks the question, and

presents a framework to answer ‘how do we want to be doing product and process development in 15 years time?’

It is however important and useful to capture some key differences, and in turn opportunities for align with, other

related documents.

Suschem – Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) - 2015

The Suschem SIRA presents a plan for how the incumbent Chemicals, Chemistry-using and

Process Industries can contribute to societal grand challenges – primarily around sustainability

and resource efficiency.

The SusChem SIRA specifically highlights the need for formulation to receive a renewed emphasis,

in the areas of health, home and personal care and delivery of efficacious personalised products

to the consumer. Recommendations are made for increased investment specifically in the areas

of Formulation for Delivery, Process Design, Formulation for Stability and Medical Imaging. In

addition the SusChem SIRA pressed for the Commission to invest in a Formulation CSA, not just in

its SIRA but during direct advocacy with Commission representatives. The success of AceForm

4.0 was welcomed by SusChem.

The Suschem community naturally focusses on addressing sustainable issues by attempting to

reduce resource/energy utilisation within the factory. However, for most formulating industries,

most of the sustainability issues are embedded elsewhere in the product life cycle; and moreover



there is limited scope for introduction of new process technologies. For most of the formulating

industries, many of the sustainability issues encountered are found when the product is in use

and being disposed of; the SusChem SIRA is nevertheless relevant to AceForm 4.0 because these

sustainability properties must form part of product design during manufacture.

The emphasis on materials, and in particular nanomaterials, in the SusChem SIRA is overplayed

from the perspective of most formulating industries. In part, because key sectors do not wish to

be associated with nanotechnologies (cosmetics, food, drink) for reasons relating to consumer

expectations. But more broadly, the effects that formulators deliver, are largely a product of

engineering across multiple lengths, and the promise of novel effects through nano-engineering is

significantly outweighed by the complexity of achieving it, versus the practicalities of realising

radical effects using simpler technologies and material architectures.

Medicines SRA

The Medicines SRA is designed to identify and progress technologies and capabilities, but in very

strong alignment to specific conditions/target applications.

There is some cross-over around the identification of the need to develop novel delivery

technologies, however this is particularly niche.

???

Manufutures SRA

The emphasis here is on how digital technologies (i4.0) can make manufacturing environmental

more productive and resource efficient.

Whilst much of the content should be transferrable and relevant to the formulating industries

(subject to some translation, and unpicking where the primary discrete manufacturing agenda

isn’t relevant) it is important to distinguish that the Aceform roadmap focus is on product and

process design capabilities across the whole product life cycle (not just in the manufacturing

environment).

Whilst this means there should be some technical / capability touchpoints e.g. around process

analytics, sensors, data, informatics, there are two quite separate agendas here.

Out of Scope / Further Roadmapping work needed

In the development of this roadmap many insights/drivers/challenges were shared from across multiple sectors

covering issues beyond R&T capabilities.

Themes including: Regulations, policy, skills and training, marketing, supply chains, waste management.

It was however deemed beyond the scope of this activity, and the capacity of the Aceform team, to explore these

themes across all relevant sectors, towards the provision of meaningful, balanced and actionable output.



It is recommended that this issues should be considered on a sector by sector basis, but potential overlaps around

chemical regulations and skill and training would be a priority for future cross-working.

Collaborative action needed

When to collaborate

Whilst this roadmap has identified a common vision of how to advance formulating capabilities, each sector (and

often product type) has a unique footprint of innovation drivers, applications, material/ingredients and capability

toolkit.

There remains however an opportunity, and imperative, to collaborate but it is not always clear as to with whom

and when. Below are some guiding principles

Same sector

Where formulation technologies or capabilities are not the primary source of value creation for companies,

there is significant opportunity for same sector collaborations e.g. Pharma developing platform

manufacturing capabilities.

Where supply chain companies need access to end-user technical and market insights/constraints e.g.

developing an active delivery technologies or a process sensor technology)

Pre-competitive development of standards and systems to curate and structure data.

Cross-sector

Development of formulation development toolkit; for separate application in respective sectors but

generally focusing where:

o Formulation chemistries/composition/ingredient base/mechanism have reasonable cross-over.

o Where innovation cycles are of a similar order

o Where cost bases are of a similar order

o

How to collaborate

The roadmap in the previous section infers that the progression to more advanced formulation capabilities requires

innovation in terms of the nature and ambition of projects. Each company/consortium will have specific

materials/technologies/applications of interest, however in general projects should be doing more of the following:

o Creating cross sector tools

o Connecting supply chains e.g. ingredients screening in tandem with tool development; or smes accessing

earlier support/investment from large end-users

o more connecting centre (more data)

o more ‘real-world’ pilots (plants, logistics, consumer)

to be completed…



Appendix A – Call text for H2020 NMBP-30-2016 competition

NMBP-30-2016: Facilitating knowledge management, networking and coordination in the field of formulated

products

Specific Challenge: Complex formulated products such as pharmaceuticals, medicines, cosmetic creams and gels, detergent

powders, processed foods, paints, adhesives, lubricants and pesticides are ubiquitous in everyday life. The design and

manufacture of formulated products is a highly significant value-adding step, with a value multiplier ranging from around 3 –

100. There is an estimated emerging global market of around € 1400 bn. The EU has a strong, competitive advantage in

formulation and within the EU there are many significant centres for the industrial manufacture and R&D of formulated

products.

In order for Europe to avail this opportunity, there is a need to share in a targeted manner, the diverse skills and expertise from

different sectors and how this shared complementary expertise can enrich each of the partners’ innovative capabilities through

cross-learning and research at the precompetitive level.

Scope: Proposals should focus on and facilitate the exchange of non-competitive “know-how” in formulation technologies

which will benefit the innovative potential and capabilities of diverse industrial sectors, relevant in both SMEs and large

corporations in the following domains:

Technologies for better delivery of active ingredients in products through innovative design of combined formulation and high throughput

technologies to achieve an optimal use of ingredients;

State-of-the-art modelling and high throughput metrology methods to better predict, measure, control and at an early stage, optimize

the stability of formulated products, leading to higher sustainability, better regulatory compliance, better supply chain management,

improved shelf-life properties and an exact correlation between lab-scale and production-scale properties;

Intensification methodologies for better process design that utilize formulation technologies via a scalable and industrially relevant

integrated digital platform in order to reduce the number of steps and use less energy than what is currently employed.

Activities may include the identification of the common scientific and industrial cross sectorial research and innovation

challenges through the development of a shared vision and common roadmap.

Priority will be given to proposals involving at least three sectors, such as Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Agrochemical, Food

Science and Medical Technology, etc.

Involvement from at least three internationally recognized research establishments within the European Union is encouraged.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU between EUR 300 000 to 500 000 would allow

this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals

requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact:

Rational development of sustainable developed products and processes;

Structuring and integration of value chains in the field of design and manufacturing of formulated products as a significant value added

step leading to reduction of costs and time to market;

Mobilisation of European industries to achieve global leadership in delivering innovatively formulated products within the context of

Industry 4.0 and the Circular Economy.

Type of Action: Coordination and support action

Documents

Common Vision and Roadmap for Formulated Products...4. Coatings and Surfaces Paints Inks and dyes Lubricants Adhesives Speciality chemicals 5. Food & Drink Food – confectionary,