Recent advances in materials science have accelerated the development of high-entropy alloys (HEAs), a class of multicomponent materials recognized for their enhanced properties, structural stability, high-temperature resistance, and oxidation tolerance, enabling applications, such as aviation turbine engine hot-section components and other high-temperature environments. To ensure that innovations align with safety, sustainability and socio-economic targets, the European Union’s (EU) Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) framework provides a methodology for evaluating chemicals, materials, and products early in their design and throughout their entire life cycle. The methodology consists of five hierarchical steps, applied in an iterative way, aiming for continuous improvement across EU target pillars.

The EU-funded M2DESCO project aims to develop HEA-based coatings deposited via Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), free from hazardous substances and with reduced reliance on critical raw materials for industrial tooling applications (e.g., hot-stamping tools). Central to this effort is the implementation of the SSbD framework to support a comprehensive evaluation of safety and sustainability aspects of the developed coatings. In the present work, a scoping analysis is performed to establish the objectives of the evaluation, including system boundaries, (re-)design actions, and relevant indicators that will guide the SSbD assessment. A simplified SSbD assessment follows, reflecting the project’s current maturity level across the coatings’ developed life-cycle stages. The current focus on safety assessment includes hazard classification for the metallic elements that comprise the HEA coatings, occupational exposure during the manufacturing of the HEA targets and the PVD coating process, as well as exposure during the use-phase of the coated hot-stamping tools. Results will focus on materials’ toxicity evaluation based on current OECD guidelines and relevant ISO standards and quantitative exposure assessment for the production and the application phase evaluating human and environmental safety aspects via the use of in silico tools and established databases, such as European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). Sustainability evaluation follows through Life Cycle Assessment, presenting preliminary identifications of potential environmental hotspots in the early design phase. The goal of the present work is to showcase the progress made in the implementation of the SSbD framework for the production of novel HEA coatings, while highlighting methodological limitations that need to be addressed to strengthen the integration of safety and sustainability principles within the broader materials industry.