The report, produced by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, evaluates the current technology landscape for suppressing indoor airborne pathogen transmission. It distinguishes two main technology groups: detection systems that identify airborne pathogens in real time, and decontamination devices that remove or neutralise pathogens from air and surfaces. The assessment uses a set of performance criteria such as detection limit, response time, decontamination efficiency, energy consumption and maintenance requirements. While the document does not provide explicit numerical values for each technology, it reports that several candidates achieve detection limits below 10^2 particles per cubic metre and decontamination efficiencies above 99 % for viral aerosols under laboratory conditions. The maturity assessment places most detection platforms at Technology Readiness Level 4–5, indicating prototype stage, whereas some decontamination units have reached Level 6–7, ready for pilot deployment. Impact scoring, derived from expert surveys and participatory workshops, ranks UV‑based air purifiers and high‑efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters as high‑impact solutions for immediate deployment, while novel nanomaterial‑coated surfaces are considered high‑potential but lower maturity.
The study also maps drivers, enablers and barriers. Key drivers include regulatory pressure for improved indoor air quality, rising public demand for safer spaces and the economic cost of respiratory disease outbreaks. Enablers identified are advances in sensor miniaturisation, cost‑effective UV‑LED technology and integration with building management systems. Barriers encompass limited standardisation of performance metrics, high upfront costs and uncertainties around long‑term efficacy in real‑world settings. The foresight component explores scenarios such as a future pandemic with a highly transmissible airborne pathogen, a post‑pandemic era with stricter ventilation standards and a normalised use of air‑purification technologies in commercial and residential buildings. Recommendations call for harmonised testing protocols, targeted funding for high‑maturity decontamination devices and policy incentives to accelerate adoption.
Collaboration underpinning the report involved a multidisciplinary team from the JRC in Ispra and Brussels, the HERA office in Brussels and external experts from universities and industry. Authors include Ana Ruiz‑Moreno, Francesco Fumagalli, Andrea Valsesia and others from the JRC, as well as Dina Ashour and Andreas Prenner from HERA. The project was funded by the European Commission under its health crisis preparedness programme, with a timeframe spanning the COVID‑19 pandemic period and extending into the post‑pandemic research agenda. The joint effort combined desk research, expert surveys and a participatory workshop to produce a comprehensive assessment of indoor air quality technologies aimed at mitigating airborne pathogen transmission.