ASOCIACIÓN DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS INDUSTRIAS CERÁMICAS
ITC-AICE
ITC-AICE's activity is focused on spearheading technology innovation and design processes in the ceramic sector (market and consumer needs),through professionalised management of a qualified human team.ITC acts as a partner for ceramic companies, detecting their problems and searching for instruments for solving them.
ID: 398509428349-34
Lobbying Activity
Response to Advanced Materials Act
12 Jan 2026
We highly value the forthcoming Advanced Materials Act as a strategic initiative to strengthen the industrial and technological competitiveness of the European Union. We consider its integrated approach particularly relevant, as it is aimed at accelerating innovation, reducing structural barriers, and strengthening the connection between research, industry, and the market. Strategic support and industrial acceleration. We welcome the objective of the Advanced Materials Act to significantly reduce time-to-market, which currently often exceeds ten years. To achieve this goal, we consider it essential to strengthen shared technological infrastructures and Open Innovation Test Beds, enabling SMEs and start-ups to access early-stage validation without assuming unsustainable financial risks. In this context, it is crucial to enhance the role of technology centers as spaces that integrate and provide specialized infrastructures without requiring companies to make their own investments, thereby reducing innovation-related risks, enabling lower-cost testing and development, and fostering collaboration. Furthermore, the integration of advanced digitalization tools, such as artificial intelligence and digital twins, should act as a key enabler to optimize materials design and shorten development costs and timelines. Regulatory simplification and testing environments. We agree with the need to implement controlled testing environments (sandboxes) to accelerate validation and certification processes and to mitigate the current administrative burdens that hinder EU competitiveness. Simplifying approval procedures and reducing bureaucracy related to intellectual property are urgent measures to prevent the EUs global position in patenting from continuing to weaken in comparison with international competitors. Optimization of European collaboration models. Based on our technical experience, we observe that the efficiency of the current R&I ecosystem is undermined by the dynamics of certain European funding calls. Low success rates and the substantial effort required to prepare proposals act as barriers to entry and divert resources away from effective innovation. We consider it critical to review the structure of consortia, as the large number of partners in many projects often prevents effective overall monitoring and fragments research into poorly integrated subprojects. This situation runs counter to the Acts objective of establishing a coherent legislative framework and enabling smooth cross-border collaboration. We therefore propose promoting more agile consortia and simplified application processes, ensuring that efforts are focused on real innovation rather than on the bureaucratic management of overly complex structures. Sustainability and talent. We strongly support the adoption of the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach as a key principle in the development of advanced materials, integrating safety, sustainability, and circularity criteria from the earliest design stages throughout the entire lifecycle. This approach, promoted by the European Commission, enables the anticipation of environmental and health risks, improves process efficiency, and facilitates regulatory acceptance and industrial scalability of new materials. The implementation of SSbD, supported by tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA), should be complemented by specialized training programs that equip professionals with interdisciplinary skills to operate effectively in increasingly complex industrial environments. In conclusion, we consider the Advanced Materials Act to be a key opportunity to consolidate a more agile, coherent, and competitive European innovation ecosystem. Strengthening shared infrastructures, simplifying regulation, optimizing collaboration models, and investing in sustainability and talent will be decisive factors in accelerating the industrial uptake of advanced materials and reinforcing the European Unions technological leader
Read full responseMeeting with Susana Solís Pérez (Member of the European Parliament)
8 Dec 2025 · CBAM and ETS