Formas has awarded SEK 3 million to the research project TRACE AI - Transparent and Accessible Information for a Chemically Safe Circular Economy, coordinated by the University of Gothenburg through FRAM - Centre for Future Chemical Risk Assessment and Management. The 18-month project will start in November 2025.
To achieve a sustainable and chemically safe circular economy, society needs better access to reliable information about hazardous chemicals. Today, major knowledge gaps remain. Of the approximately 350,000 substances registered globally, most lack sufficient information on their hazardous properties. Existing data are often scattered across databases, safety data sheets, and scientific publications, and rarely presented in formats useful to decision-makers in industry, government, or civil society.
At the same time, new EU regulations, such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), impose higher demands on documentation and traceability of hazardous substances in products. Meeting these requirements will require new methods that can rapidly and reliably identify chemical risks - an area where artificial intelligence (AI) offers great potential.
TRACE AI explores how AI and data-driven methods can improve the collection, organisation, and interpretation of chemical information. Using techniques such as machine learning, natural language processing, and generative models, the researchers aim to develop solutions that make it easier to detect hazardous substances, assess risks, and design safer alternatives.
The project is carried out in collaboration between the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology, Stockholm University, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, and ChemSec - the International Chemical Secretariat. Together, the partners combine cutting-edge expertise in AI, environmental toxicology, life cycle analysis, environmental economics, and chemicals policy, with a strong grounding in stakeholder needs and policy relevance.
"We see great potential in how AI can help bridge knowledge gaps and make chemical information more accessible," says Daniel Slunge, Project Leader and researcher at Environment for Development, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg. "Through TRACE AI, we aim to lay the foundation for a more transparent, reliable, and usable information system that supports safe and sustainable materials management."
TRACE AI is a preparatory step toward a larger research programme and will result in a joint research and innovation agenda. Through case studies in sectors such as plastics, textiles, and food-contact materials, the project will demonstrate how AI-based tools can be applied in real-world decision-making and identify barriers to their use. It will also explore how AI solutions can contribute to improved chemical safety in low- and middle-income countries and within global environmental agreements.
