Anyone currently preparing a proposal should clarify one key question early on:

How can experiments be designed so that they are reproducible, data-ready, and efficient enough for an international research project?

Funding programs like M-ERA.NET are placing increasing emphasis on methodological aspects: high-throughput material screening, data-driven material development (AI/ML), sustainable processes, and reproducible experiments across multiple partner sites.

A technology that can address precisely these requirements is therefore gaining increasing importance in materials research: controlled aerosol generation.

What M-ERA.NET Expects from Research Projects

M-ERA.NET exclusively funds transnational projects. At least two partner institutions from different countries must collaborate—and often the same experiments are conducted at multiple sites.

For such projects to succeed, methods must meet specific requirements:

• Reproducibility across multiple laboratories
• Standardized process parameters
• Data quality for modeling and AI methods
• Efficient screening procedures for systematic material development

Grant proposals that clearly address these methodological aspects demonstrate to reviewers that a project is technically sound.

Aerosol technology as a tool for modern materials research

Aerosols play a key role in several of the six funding themes of the 2026 call—from battery electrodes and coatings to nanomaterials for electronics. They are either studied directly or used as a tool for material generation, particle characterization, or film formation.

The advantage of aerosol-based methods lies in the precise control of particle size, mass flow, and process parameters. This allows experiments to be conducted reproducibly while simultaneously varying them systematically—an important prerequisite for high-throughput screening and data-driven materials development.

Two practical examples

RBG System – Reproducible Powder Dispersion

The RBG System disperses non-cohesive powders in the size range of 0.1 to 200 µm with high dosing consistency. The mass flow—ranging from 0.04 to 800 g/h—can be reproducibly determined from physical parameters such as feed rate and bulk density.

This makes the system suitable for, among other things:

• Battery electrodes and catalyst materials
• Filter and coating studies
• Inhalation and particle investigations

DNP digital 3000 – controlled nanoparticle generation

For research in the nanometer range, the DNP digital 3000 offers a precise method for nanoparticle generation. Particles in the range of 20 to 350 nm are generated by spark discharge between two electrodes.

In addition to graphite, copper, silver, or gold electrodes can also be used. The generator is also established as a calibration device in the Particle Measurement Program (PMP)—a quality feature that may also be relevant in grant applications.

What this means for your grant application

The use of established experimental methods signals to reviewers that a project has a robust methodological infrastructure.

Aerosol-based systems can, for example, support:

• reproducible process parameters
• standardized experiments across multiple partner sites
• automated data acquisition
• integration into data-driven material development approaches

This enables both comparable experiments in international consortia and systematic material investigations to be carried out efficiently.