List of Nominees 2023

WINNER STANDARDS+INNOVATION 2023

Nominated by CYS - Cyprus Organization for Standardisation

The current Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) play a crucial role in assessing the energy efficiency of buildings, primarily relying on the building's design. These certificates adhere to the European standards established by CEN/TC 371 for building-level evaluations. Additionally, various product or systems committees like TC 089, TC 156, TC 169, TC 228, and TC 247 contribute to different aspects of energy performance assessment, such as thermal performance, ventilation, lighting, and heating and cooling systems.

D^2EPC’s innovative approach proposes a new generation of EPCs that integrate dynamic sensors and Building Information Modeling (BIM). By leveraging these technologies, D^2EPC enables the creation of a digital twin that accurately represents the building's energy characteristics.

D^2EPC takes a comprehensive perspective by introducing a novel rating system for assessing the energy performance of buildings. This new rating not only considers the energy efficiency aspects but also incorporates indicators related to economic factors, human comfort, and general well-being. By encompassing these broader aspects, D^2EPC aims to provide a more holistic evaluation of a building's energy performance.
Recognizing the significance of operational energy performance, D^2EPC has played a pivotal role in establishing a specialized European working group known as CEN/TC 371/WG 5. This dedicated group focuses on addressing operational energy performance concerns and actively contributes to the advancement of EPCs in this domain.

Through its dynamic approach, integration of sensors and BIM, and emphasis on comprehensive performance indicators, D^2EPC is poised to revolutionize the field of energy performance evaluation for buildings, paving the way for more efficient and sustainable built environments.

Nominated by UNE - Asociación Española de Normalización

The H2020 DEFACTO project is aimed at developing a multiphysics and multiscale modelling integrated tool to better understand the material, cell and manufacturing process behaviour, therefore allowing to accelerate cell development and the R&I process. This approach will allow developing new high capacity and high voltage Li-ion cell generation 3b battery. This will increase the understanding of multiscale mechanisms and their interactions, reducing the R&D cell development resources, therefore unlocking an innovation-led cell manufacturing industry.

The validated computational simulations will be a powerful tool to (i) tailor new optimum cell designs, (ii) optimise manufacturing steps of electrode processing and electrolyte filling, and (iii) shape new generation 3b materials. In order to perform this modelling, it is essential to define the required input parameters and the appropriate experiments and characterisation techniques.

The DEFACTO project has a specific objective of making an effective contribution to new standardization in the batteries sector, especially regarding shortened validation of cell endurance (measurement of functionalities, ageing…) and cell production. Two CWAs are under development to cover this objective.

Nominated by NSAI - National Standards Authority of Ireland

Manufacturing is one of the largest energy-consuming sectors and responsible for approximately a third of the global energy demand. Therefore, energy management is key to ensuring that manufacturing remains competitive as well as being sustainable as part of the global energy transition. The EU-funded DENiM project is developing an integrated toolchain for the provision of advanced digital services including secure-edge connectivity leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, digital twin, energy modelling and automation. Digital technologies will play a significant role by providing the ability to automatically monitor and optimise energy usage, while continuously informing users about the environmental and economic impact of decisions made at all stages of the manufacturing process. DENiM develops an interoperable digital intelligence platform enabling a collaborative approach to industrial energy management culminating in the delivery of continuous energy impact assessment, together with energy control and optimisation across existing production machines, processes and facilities.

Nominated by AFNOR -Comité Electronique Français - & SFS - Finnish Standards Association

The protection, preservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and their functions are of global importance. For European states, it became legally binding mainly through the EU-Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC). To assess the ecological status of a given water body, aquatic biodiversity data are obtained and compared to a reference water body.

The current approach to biodiversity assessment and monitoring is time consuming, limited in temporal and spatial resolution, and error-prone due to variation of individual taxonomic expertise of the analysts. Novel genomic tools can circumvent many of the aforesaid problems and can complement traditional bioassessment and biomonitoring. Yet, a plethora of molecular approaches are independently developed and there were no industry standards available, hampering any concerted routine application.

DNAqua-Net  nucleated is a large group of European researchers across disciplines with the task to identify gold-standard genomic tools, indices and metrics for routine application for biodiversity assessments and biomonitoring of European water bodies. Jointly with stakeholders, the group developed a conceptual framework for the standard application of molecular tools as well as created a working group under CEN/TC 230 to actively advance molecular method standardization for water quality.

Nominated by DS - Dansk Standard

The EASI-STRESS project has the overall aim to strengthen industrial access and uptake of non-destructive synchrotron x-ray and neutron diffraction-based residual stress characterization tools. Incorporating this knowledge into the design process and lifetime assessment of metallic components will give more reliable products with increased lifetime and reduced material usage.

Currently, conservative worst-case-scenario are used when designing metallic components exposed to cyclic loads. In knowing the actual internal stress levels, safety factors can be reduced and an estimated material cost saving of around 15 % can be achieved. Other industrial benefits include increased lifetime and reduced time-to-market.

Nominated by AFNOR -Comité Electronique Français

Natural and pharmaceutical estrogens are key Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC) which are monitored differently depending on the country, and for which standardised reference methods are currently not yet available. It is known that estrogens may end up in surface waters via wastewater, and due to their physicochemical properties, they can partition in the different compartments (water and suspended particulate matter) of water systems. Despite occurring at ultra-trace levels (below ng/L), it is believed that they are contributing to the large rise in the number of feminised fish and other endocrine disruptive effects. Moreover, they may be a factor in biodiversity loss. Therefore, appropriate measurement methods are necessary which allow estrogen levels below the environmental quality standard (EQS) to be monitored and to show if a water body is at risk. The overall objective of the project was to develop reliable and harmonised measurement methods for estrogens, to comply with the Water Framework Directive requirements (Directive 2013/39EC, Commission Directive 2009/90/EC and Commission Implementation Decision (EU) 2018/840). The outcomes of this project, in particular the validated mass spectrometry (MS) based reference methods, were disseminated to CEN/ TC 230 and ISO/ TC 147 (Vienna agreement) to be fed into the documentary standards they develop.

Nominated by BSI - British Standards Institution

Graphene is a very unique two-dimensional material, which offers properties in strength, and high electrical and heat conductivity Producers, suppliers and standards bodies have highlighted a lack of standardised characterisation measurements as the single biggest issue limiting its uptake into commercial products. New documentary standards are required, with measurements validated by inter-laboratory testing.

The project has lead and contribute to the development of two standards characterising the structure and composition of graphene samples. The first will address methods to verify measurements made on commercial graphene flake products and the second on developing measurement methods to characterise thickness, size and composition of flakes using atomic force and scanning-electron microscopy.

Nominated by ASI - Austrian Standards International

The aim of LEVEL-UP is to offer a scalable platform covering the overall lifecycle, ranging from the digital twin’s setup, modernisation actions to diagnose and predict the operation of physical assets, to the refurbishment and remanufacturing activities towards end of life. In-situ repair technologies and the redesign for new upgraded components will be facilitated through virtual simulations for increased performance and lifetime.

LEVEL-UP will therefore comprise new hardware and software components interfaced with the current facilities through IoT and data-management platforms, while being orchestrated through eight scalable strategies at component, workstation and shopfloor level.

The actions for modernising, diagnosing, inspecting, repairing, disassembling, upgrading, refurbishing, remanufacturing, recycling, and reassembly & testing will be structured and formalised into ten special Protocols, linked with an Industrial Digital Thread weaving a seamless digital integration with all actors in the value chain for improved future iterations.

LEVEL-UP is demonstrated in 7 demo sites from different sectors in the operational environment of Vertical Lathes, Milling machines, Presses, woodworking, Pultrusion, Extrusion, Inspection and CNC equipment to achieve increased efficiency, extended lifetime and reliability, and increased return on high capital investments.

Nominated by DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) can be precisely manoeuvred by magnetic fields, and so offer many potentially valuable applications, such as targeting cells for cancer treatment, as well as in other biomedical applications, waste-water treatment and acoustics. At the beginning of the project, there were no international standards for measuring the magnetic properties of MNPs, thereby undermining consumer trust and hampering innovation. A new ISO standard “Liquid suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles” was in development.

This project has developed new MNP measurement approaches, including identifying and defining relevant physical parameters (eg saturation magnetisation, composition, magnetic interaction), and identified appropriate methods for measuring these. It has summarised the results, alongside those from other relevant projects, from a standardisation point of view and fed these into the standardisation process. The resulting ISO/TS 19807-1 standard, published in June 2019, provided the MNP industry - largely SMEs with limited resources - with improved confidence in magnetic properties and the ability to market innovations accordingly.

Developed under EMPIR, the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research, the project coordinated by the German metrology institute (PTB) involved 11 European partners and ran from 1 June 2017 to 31 May 2020.

Nominated by UNI - Ente Italiano di Normazione

The refurbishment and re-manufacturing of large industrial equipment in factories could help facilitate a circular economy. The EU-funded RECLAIM project will develop advanced technological solutions with built-in capabilities for in-situ repair, self-assessment and optimal re-use strategies. The project will deliver a decision support framework that guides the optimal refurbishment and re-manufacturing of electromechanical machines and robotics systems. The framework will use IoT sensors as well as prediction and process optimisation techniques to extend machine lifetime and increase productivity. RECLAIM’s solution will be tested in five real industrial environments to evaluate the lifecycle of the industrial equipment. The aim is to increase efficiency and move towards full re-use of equipment in manufacturing, which is the backbone of the European economy.

Nominated by NSAI - National Standards Authority of Ireland

Establishing links between standards and SDG’s in health care is important. In this study, using an initial Natural language processing (NLP) tool this project conducted an analysis of standards with SDG data which showed a correlation between ISO standards for healthcare and the targets and indicators of SDG 3. Given the short project timeframe and resource constraints, the research team chose to pilot the methodology on SDG Target 3.1: Maternal mortality. This target aims to reduce the global maternal-mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live births by 2030. The research analysis showed that approximately 10% of the sample of 100 ISO standards investigated for the healthcare sector were directly relevant to SDG Target 3.1., with 43% related to health informatics and 16% to medical devices.

Nominated by NQIS/ELOT - National Quality Infrastructure System

SHERLOCK vision is to introduce the latest safe robotic technologies including high payload collaborative arms, exoskeletons and mobile manipulators in diverse production environments, enhancing them with smart mechatronics and AI based cognition, creating efficient HRC stations that are designed to be safe and guarantee the acceptance and wellbeing of operators.

Towards achieving these functions, driven by industrial requirements, SHERLOCK consortium achieved the following objectives:

• Development of soft robotics collaborative Production Station in order to allow flexibility to combine different type of resources in the same workspace.
• Novel human – centred interaction, collaboration and awareness in order to allow improvement in operator’s working conditions – inclusion of special groups.
• AI enabled cognition for autonomous HR collaborative applications in order to allow handling of non-expected situations and adjustment of uncertainty in real time.
• SHERLOCK modules for the design and certification of Safe HRC applications in order to allow easiness in designing and operating HRC systems that are inherently safe.

The developed technologies have been tested and evaluated in four use cases (link) from different production sectors, namely the renewable energy sector, the contract manufacturing sector, the machine building sector and the aeronautics sector.

Nominated by ASRO - Romanian Standards Association

STRATEGY aims to contribute to the EU pre-standardization process through streamlining, testing and validating (in realistic environments) interoperability-related pre-standardization items in systems and procedures addressing the operational needs of practitioners involved with Crisis Management. Considering the needs identified from previous EU initiatives & desktop research on the EU priorities, STRATEGY addresses eight thematic streams related to crisis management: Search and Rescue, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Response Planning, Command and Control, Early Warning Systems, and Rapid Damage Assessment, CBRN-E, Training, and Terminology.

The considered implementation approach relies on the consistent presence of actively involved experts from security stakeholders throughout all stages of pre-standardisation, from the preparatory work done in Programming Mandates until the concrete standardisation work in Technical Committees (TCs) and Common Working Groups (CWGs) to assure the success of the standardisation actions of the EC.

Τhe ultimate project goal is to strengthen, through pre-standardisation, the resilience of the EU against all types of natural & man-made disasters (multi-hazard approach),by ensuring first responder safety and empowering their operational capacity by validating standards and proposing new items for standardisation in next-generation solutions and procedures, providing an effective and efficient collaborative response.

Nominated by UNE - Asociación Española de Normalización

Fracture toughness is gaining interest for steelmakers, part makers and OEMs, as a relevant property for new AHSS development and optimisation, and for designing and manufacturing lightweight high-performance parts.

ToughSteel project, coordinated by Eurecat Technology Center, involves and engages the main actors of the sheet metal forming community with the objective to promote, disseminate and transfer the know-how acquired about the use of fracture toughness as a tool to address cracking problems in forming and in-service performance of advanced high strength steel (AHSS).

By disseminating and valorizing the fracture toughness approach to predict crack related phenomena, as stretch-flangeability and impact performance in AHSS from an early design phase, ToughSteel will contribute to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of sheet metal forming processes involving high-strength steels by the prevention of production loses and the reduction of production costs and time-to-market for sheet products in automotive and other industrial end-user sectors.

Nominated by DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung

The goal of the ZDMP project is the realization of a manufacturing process that does not produce a single faulty part. To achieve this goal, a platform will be created that monitors machines and components through a variety of sensors and the combination of various information so that errors can be anticipated and avoided. This ZDMP platform will not only be used for zero-defect manufacturing, but also serve as an open, extensible interface for additional programs that can be offered in its own business-to-business app store.

Nominated by UNI - Ente Italiano di Normazione

Andrea Moro is an architect and researcher who has been active in the field of sustainable building at national and international level since 1996. He has more than 20 years of international experience in working with European research projects (Interreg Alpine Space, MED, Central Europe, Alcotra, FP7, H2020) and dealing with sustainability assessment methodologies and tools for the built environment.

He is the scientific responsible for the Protocollo ITACA Italian national certification system on behalf of ITACA, the Federal Association of Italian Regions, and he is also responsible for several regional certification schemes based on Protocollo ITACA in Italy.

He served as President of iiSBE (international initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment) during 2007-2011 and is currently a Board member of iiSBE. Since 2005 he has served as the President of the national Chapter iiSBE Italia. Since 2013 he has served as the President of iiSBE Italia R&D, an SME devoted to research activities on the sustainability of buildings and urban areas.

He is active member of international working groups belonging to DG Environment, UN Environment, Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, iiSBE, CESBA and SBA (Sustainable Building Alliance). He carries out training and education activities for public and private organizations, including ILO (International Labor Organization). He has been the executive coordinator of the Guidelines for the Sustainability of the Olympic Villages - XX Olympic Games in Torino (2006).

Nominated by NSAI - National Standards Authority of Ireland

Delaram Golpayegani is a PhD researcher at ADAPT Centre, Trinity College Dublin, and an early-stage researcher in PROTECT, a European training network funded under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action. She is also a Committee Member of the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) National Standards AI Committee; and she has been involved in Artificial Intelligence (AI) standardisation activities at both European and international levels. Her research aims to explore how semantic web technologies can be utilised for expressing, documenting, and sharing risks associated with development and use of AI systems according to the proposed AI regulations, international and European standards, and trustworthy AI guidelines.

WINNER STANDARDS+INNOVATION 2023

Nominated by IPQ - Instituto Português da Qualidade

Elsa is the head of volume and flow laboratory at the Portuguese Institute of Quality, she is a quality expert for more than 20 years and is leading various national and international projects with the focus on supporting research to improve flow measurements for the application in industry to finally support the broad public. Her latest research has been dedicated to the exact measurements in the drug delivery to have the best standards in place.

Nominated by BSI - British Standards Institution

Kaya’s research (with her team and partners), Defining Net Zero for organizations, that mapped 33 key standards and voluntary initiatives to trace common and emerging good practice went on to create the foundation and, subsequently, was used to create the seed document of the ISO Net Zero Guidelines created in ISO International Workshop Agreement 42.

This research and subsequent development of the seed document has been highly impactful for organisations that are looking to take (or enhance) their net zero action. Within 6 months the ISO Net Zero Guidelines have been viewed more than 35,000 times from over 150 countries; it has been in numerous policy documents and reports from climate action initiatives as an exemplary of how standards are driving consensus and alignment on what high-integrity net zero means. The document was also quoted in many high-profile sessions and outputs at COP27 (including the UNFCCC Yearbook of Climate Action) and received tier 1 media coverage around the world.

Kaya’s research in the net zero standards was critical to the ISO Net Zero Guidelines consensus-building process identifying and agreeing on critical elements of net zero integrity. As a result, independent analysis by the Carbon Trust has reviewed the ISO Net Zero Guidelines against the criteria of the UN Secretary-General’s Integrity Matters report on greenwashing and found it to be strongly aligned with all ten of the UN’s flagship recommendations on high integrity net zero action to minimise greenwashing risk.

Nominated by ASRO - Romanian Standards Association

Lorena Deleanu is a Professor at Dunarea de Jos University of Galati since 2004. She is active in standardization since 2008 when the university became member of ASRO, and is involved in the following activities:

• Courses at master for engineers and doctoral school about standardization: Fundamental of Standardization (Elemente de standardizare) and Standardization as Support of Research Activity (Standardizarea ca suport in cercetare)
• Collaboration agreement with ASRO for translating Romanian versions of standards of interest in our Faculty of Engineering,
• Proposal accepted by General Assembly of ASRO that students could buy standards at reduced price
• Papers published in indexed journals or presented at international conferences in order to promote standardization in research activities,
• Vicepresident of ASRO,
• Member in TCs: 108 Plastics and Elastomers, TC 320 Fuels and Gaseous and Liquid Fuels, Lubricants and Derived Products, of Petroleum, Synthetic and Biological Origin, CT 223 Security of Technical Equipment (corresponding to ISO TC 199 Safety of machinery)
• Editorial activities: editor-in-chief of the journal Mechanical Testing and Diagnosis from 2011, ISSN 2247–9635, http://www.mtd.ro/), reviewer of the journals Industrial Lubrication and Tribology from 2011, Polymers (MDPI), Materials (MDPI), Lubricants, Fibers, INCAS Bulletin (ISSN 2066-8201) since 2014, Tribology in Industry etc.

Nominated by NSAI - National Standards Authority of Ireland

The Virtual Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (vDBA), was developed for virtualising and slicing Passive Optical Networks, to support multiple services and operators across the same shared infrastructure. The nominee pioneered this work in 2014 as he received competitive funding for €1M by SFI (Science Foundation Ireland) to carry out research on Software Defined Networks applied to optical access networks.

This proved to be an excellent strategic decision, as this area is today driving the telecommunications digital transformation. The concept of PON slicing is today important for supporting mobile densification of 5G and future 6G, providing low cost high-capacity connectivity to small cells. The impact of this work proved strong both from an industry perspective and scholarly (producing over 20 publications in top conferences and journals and 3 patents). Its impact was even greater from an industry perspective. NTT (the national Japanese network operator) and Vodafone supported the project innovation by including it in standards from the BroadBand Forum. Intel also supported it, providing additional funding, and helping develop a standard compliant virtual PON, where our virtual DBA could operate. This prototype allowed us to carry out many public demonstrations of the concept.

As of today, this cooperation led to the creation of the 6G Open Networking Alliance (6G-ONE), whose funding partners of include TCD, Intel, Benetel, Dell, SRS and VMWare.

Nominated by UNI - Ente Italiano di Normazione

An expert in digitisation, sustainability and construction ethics, Bolpagni has been described by Forbes as 'the Italian who has become an engineering star'. She graduated with honours in Building Engineering-Architecture at University of Brescia, completed a PhD at Politecnico di Milano, which led her to work with top experts first in Boston and then in London. She currently works for Mace, a consulting and construction company; hired as a Manager in few years she was promoted to Associate Director, leading an international team. Bolpagni covers several leadership positions; at only 28 years old she was entrusted with the role of leading an European working group to draft a new European standard, published in 2020: the first European standard led by such a young woman, the only Italian to achieve this goal in the field of construction digitisation. Moreover, Bolpagni participates in various groups to promote innovation, well-being, and gender equality on a voluntary basis; she teaches students from all over the world to inspire new generations, obtaining more than 20 international awards. In 2022 she has been recognised as one of the most influential women internationally thanks to her key role in the standardization of the construction world.

Nominated by NEN - Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut

Dr. Olia Kanevskaia is Assistant Professor of European Economic Law and Technology at Utrecht University and Transatlantic Technology Law Fellow (2022-2023) at Stanford University. Since June 2022, she also serves as Vice President of the European Academy for Standardisation (EURAS). Olia’s research and teaching focus on the role of standards in international economic law and European legislation and in particular, on the legitimacy, quality and trustworthiness of standardization processes. A lawyer by background, Olia is interested in combining insights from different disciplines, and firmly believes that research and education on standardization should be built on collaboration between academics and practitioners. Olia’s work on standardization was published in international academic journals and edited volumes, and her monograph, based on her PhD and entitled “The Law and Practice of Global ICT Standardization” was out in February 2023 with Cambridge University Press.

Nominated by SN - Standards Norway

Dr. Vildåsen has been involved as an expert and an officer in standardization since he published his dissertation on corporate sustainability in 2019. Through his many roles and affiliations he has been part of establishing standardization as a tool in the transition from a linear to a circular economy. The nominee has specifically contributed in communicating the importance of standardization to a wider public audience.

Nominated by NSAI - National Standards Authority of Ireland

Laboratory consumables, and petri dishes in particular, play a vital role in most life science applications. Due to their diverse and varied use throughout the sciences and their use in large quantities, it is imperative that end users are assured that every Petri dish meets a defined standard and that dishes from various suppliers are compatible with one another. Since graduating from his BSc in Applied Physics in 2022, Dylan has worked as part of the Grain-4-Lab research project, 3D-printing compostable, PLA-based single-use petri dishes in Dublin City University. Rigorous testing, per ISO standards ISO 24998:2008, ISO 527-1:2019, and ISO 527-2:2012, has been carried out on the 3D printed PLA petri dishes and its base material, as well as testing against user-defined standards, to ensure that the dishes are compatible with existing lab equipment and procedures. This approach has created a more comprehensive evaluation of the material's performance and ensures that it meets the needs of end-users in the lab. This work has generated quantitative data to benchmark a previously unused material against common polystyrene Petri dishes, showing that the 3D printed PLA Petri dishes meet the requirements described in ISO 24998:2008. This work has been submitted for publication.

Nominated by NEN - Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut

Elena Rogante graduated cum laude in 2021 from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. Her master thesis "Factors that Influence Dominance of an ICT Reference Architecture: A comparative case study", nominated for the Standards + Innovation Awards 2023, was part of the curriculum Management of Innovation of the Department of Technology and Operations Management. Elena completed her bachelor's degree in digital management at Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, where she also graduated cum laude. Since 2022 she works at "Bain & Company" in Milan, Italy as an Associate Consultant.

Her thesis showed that many companies and public organisations all around the world have started to develop so-called “ICT architectures”: sets of principles, guidelines, and rules used by an organisation to direct the process of acquiring, building, modifying, and interfacing information systems throughout its boundaries. Reference architectures provide template solutions for ICT architectures in particular domains and can therefore be considered as standards. However, there are competing reference architectures, so standards battle applies. Will one reference architecture gain dominance? Or will different ones continue to co-exist? This study uses the literature on standards battles, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework to analyse factors for dominance. In this field, network effects apply, these   provide   a   force   towards   the   dominance   of   a   single architecture. However, the factors contributing to multiple standards turn out to be more powerful, as well as those from TAM and TOE. This study is new in applying standards battles literature on the references architectures that shape current information systems more than individual technical standards do, and in collecting and defining more factors for continued standards competition than so far described in the literature.

Nominated by NEN - Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut

Martijn Wiarda has dedicate a significant part of his doctoral research to the topic of responsible standardisation. Together with committee-based standardisation experts, he explored how the term Responsible Standardisation is understood in practice.

His results show that responsible standardisation requires inclusive, anticipatory, and reflective practices that are responsive to stakeholder values and worldviews.

However, he also reports that a large number of practitioners believe that the social desirability of standardisation is not self-evident because these processes are associated with various barriers that impede their inclusive and anticipatory nature.

Martijn identified factors that motivate, hinder and facilitate responsible standardisation. His work therefore provides concrete recommendations for standard developing organisations, while also opening up the academic debate about responsibility in standard-setting processes.

Nominated by DKE - German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE

Sebastian Kotzur is working on his dissertation focusing on the eye safety of optical systems incorporating lasers and lamps at Robert Bosch GmbH in cooperation with Eberhard Karls University Tübingen. He is intensively working with the product safety standard for lasers and lamps, namely the IEC 60825-1:2014 and the IEC 62471:2006.

The topic of eye safety is currently becoming increasingly important as more and more optical technologies come onto the market. These include lidar systems, for example, which enable autonomous driving or which are also used in AR/VR glasses. Such systems represent a high level of complexity in terms of beam characteristics, and cannot be adequately covered by the current state of the laser safety standard. An incorrect or inaccurate application of the standard to such systems can lead to an underestimation of the hazard potential and, in the worst case, to a permanent loss of vision.

For this reason, Sebastian is engaged in the development of new evaluation schemes and is conducting detailed investigations and validations so that these will be implemented in the standard in the future.

Nominated by DKE - German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE

During his master's thesis at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Stefan Schmitt dealt with the synchronisation of acceleration and deceleration processes in the DC interconnected network of metal-cutting machine tools. During his studies, he conducted research as a trainee in the ETA factory team as part of an interdisciplinary team on the reduction of energy consumption and load flexibilization in industry. This resulted in several publications, for example in the field of industrial component drying.

WINNER STANDARDS+INNOVATION 2023

Nominated by NSAI - National Standards Authority of Ireland

Sweta's research project focused on Standards, Policy, and Regulatory Frameworks for Efficient local (electrical) energy markets, with a specific emphasis on proposing new standards and improving existing frameworks. Through comprehensive literature reviews, case studies, and comparative analyses, Sweta identified gaps and limitations in the current standards related to local energy markets. She proposed innovative frameworks and guidelines that directly address the unique requirements of local energy markets, including aspects like peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, and network constraints.

Through her research, she was able to identify gaps, assess the suitability and effectiveness of current frameworks, propose improvements, develop new frameworks, and explore the implications of standards implementation. Furthermore, Sweta's research aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 13: Climate Action.

WINNER STANDARDS+INNOVATION 2023

Nominated by UNE - Asociación Española de Normalización

Aitor Aragón stands out for integrating innovative topics and researchers’ contributions into his standardization responsibilities as committee manager for Sustainable Construction and Building Information Modelling (BIM) in UNE.

He has been responsible for shaping, launching and managing new standardization activities, both at European and national levels, directly related to R&I projects outcomes, such as CEN/TC 442/WG 9 ‘Digital twins in the built environment’ or CEN/TC 371/WG 5 ‘Operational rating of energy performance of buildings’.

Nominated by DKE - German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE

Albrecht Brodkorb has been the convener of CLC/SC 9XC /WG7 (Fixed installations and rolling stock - current collection systems - measurements and simulation of the interaction between pantograph and overhead contact line) for more than 25 years and lead the development of two important European standards in the railway domain, EN 50317 und EN 50318, in an essential way.

Nominated by BSI - British Standards Institution

With almost fifty years’ experience in the railway industry and more than twenty years of engagement with British Standards, Cliff chaired BSI’s National Railway committee between 2011 and 2016 and since 2016 has been chair of CEN/TC 256. Cliff’s extensive experience in the railway industry coupled with his enthusiasm, attention to detail and inter-personal skills are key to the success of CEN/TC 256, which is amongst the largest CEN technical committees. The portfolio of 313 published standards and 144 live work items is split between four sub-committees and more than fifty working groups. Cliff’s excellent working relationship with the sub-committee chairs, working group convenors and their secretariat support always ensures efficient and accurate completion of projects.

Nominated by DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung

This nomination highlights the efforts of Holger Robrecht, Chair of CEN/TC 465, to prioritize sustainability and sustainable development in cities and communities, which is in line with current emphasis in standardisation on climate and cities. The Technical Committee focuses on supporting targeted research, integrating innovative solutions and services into the market, and exploring standardization options through research and innovation projects. Collaborations have been established with projects such as ARCH, RescueME, and Network Nature, which contributes to the development of Work Items related to resilient cities and nature-based solutions (NBS). The committee promotes to close the knowledge-value-chain from research to innovation to market. It puts emphasis on the engagement with young scientists, as demonstrated by the implementation study accompanying the introduction of EN ISO 37101. The emerging standards, particularly on innovative NBS, are expected to create opportunities for the development of viable and resilient cities and communities and help the ‘hand-shake’ of public and private sector actors.

Nominated by AFNOR - Association Française de Normalisation and SFS - Suomen Standardisoimisliitto r.y.

Kristian Meissner is the development manager of the Freshwater and Marine Solutions unit at the Finnish Environment institute Syke. Meissner has actively participated in CEN and ISO Water quality standardization since 2011. Meissner has developed biological monitoring through the use of novel methods and has advanced their routine uptake by creating a dedicated working group under CEN TC 230, which he convenes. The group has just published its first standard EN 17805.

Through his participation in the DNAquanet project, he has advanced within the scientific community the dialogue on the need for standards to remove the roadblocks that hinder molecular method uptake into routine use for legislative biomonitoring.

Nominated by SIS - Swedish Institute for Standards

In addition to the existing pillar of CEN/TC 249 Plastics standards that have been supporting the industry since 1990, a new mainstay 'Plastics recycling and recycled plastics' standards is being built, which is essential for industry to enable the transition to the circular economy and to meet the goal of the European commission (Mandate M/584), the application of 10 million tons of recycled plastics in new products by 2025.

The CEN/TC 249/WG 11 Plastics recycling management team has been directly involved in several activities of the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) from the beginning, and also chaired the SHRAG regarding the development of the Standardization Request M/584. This led to a direct contact between WG 11 and the plastics industry, plastics recycling industry, converters, trade associations, institutes, universities and the European Commission, covering the whole value chain.

The innovative standardization developments of CEN/TC 249/WG 11 in the field of plastics recycling and recycled plastics include the demand-driven application of recyclates, classification of plastic recyclates, and the classification of recycled plastics by data quality levels (DQL) for use and (digital) trading.

By integrating the DQL classification of recycled materials and the ISO designation system, modified for these materials, into the demand-driven standards, a direct comparison between recycled materials and virgin materials based on key, designatory, properties is made possible. This innovative standard development promotes the demand-driven use of recycled plastics. Potential users can effectively assess whether a particular type/grade of recycled plastics is suitable for a specific application, considering the available technical capabilities on the one hand and the properties of the recyclate on the other.

It is the combination of a high level of knowledge and experience in the field of plastics recycling, standardization, and the exceptional collaboration of the WG 11 management team that fulfils its roles in such an efficient way that the maximum efficiency and results of WG 11 can be achieved and the WG 11 members are optimally motivated, that is the basis of the great success of this extraordinary team.

Nominated by DKE - German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE

As Secretary of CEN/TC 45B on Radiation protection instrumentation, Miroslav Voytchev continuously maintains and establishes new contacts with the R&I community to successfully motivate active participation in the relevant standardization bodies. This leads to more and more harmonized requirements in the field of monitoring occupationally exposed workers in the area of radiation protection measurements.

Nominated by NEN - Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut

Robert Stegwee is a great promoter of standards and uses this knowledge to create awareness for the development and necessity of standards. He has been CEN/TC 251 Chair since 2012. By participating in several Horizon 2020 projects, such as X-eHealth and XpanDH, Robert has been successful in linking R&I developments from daily practice into the standardization world. As a result, these H2020 projects have resulted in early (pre-)standards answering specific needs in the market.