Companies applying for an authorisation under REACH need to provide information on potential alternatives to the Annex XIV substance(s) they use. This information is presented in the Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) submitted as part of their authorisation application. The public version of the AoA is published on ECHA’s website.

The main information on these alternatives has been extracted from AoAs and is available in the Shortlisted Alternatives Table. The file contains data available as of 30 June 2023.

The information in the file is structured as follows:

Consultation Number: Numerical ID of the authorisation application, xxxx-xx, the first part is given according to the running order of the submission, the second part indicates the use number of the application (it can contain more than one use)

Link to application: Direct link to ECHA website where the application specific public information is available

Name of applicant: Name of the legal entity(ies) (company(ies)) that applied for the use

Substance for which authorisation is applied (Full name): Name of the substance

EC number: European Community number (EC number) is a unique seven-digit identifier assigned to substances for regulatory purposes within the European Union, written in a general form as: xxx-xxx-x 

Use name: Name of the use applied for as defined by the applicant
Use descriptors as defined by the applicant (while taking into consideration the REACH R12 guidance on use description):

• TF Technical Function: technical function of the Annex XIV substance in the use applied for
• SU sector of use: main industrial sector(s) relevant for the use applied for
• PC product category: main product category(ies) relevant for the use applied for
• AC article category: main article category(ies) relevant for the use applied for 

Most promising alternative – Name: alternative substance or technology identified by the applicant as the most promising one to replace the Annex XIV substance in the use applied for.

• Most promising alternative - EC#: if the alternative is a substance
• Most promising alternative - CAS#: if the alternative is a substance; unique numerical identifier assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), US to every chemical substance described in the open scientific literature 

Potential alternative 1 – Name:
Alternative substance or technology identified by the applicant as a possible one to replace the Annex XIV substance in the use applied for
Note: This block of information is repeated for as many potential alternatives identified by the applicant. The number is not an indication of how “promising” the alternative is.

• Potential alternative 1 - EC#:  if the alternative is a substance
• Potential alternative 1 - CAS#: if the alternative is a substance
• Reason for rejection of alternative 1: category of reason presented by the applicant to reject the alternative (i.e. technical feasibility, economic feasibility, availability, risk reduction or any combination of these)
• Conclusion on  alternative 1: general conclusion drawn by the applicant on the alternative 
   

If a field is left blank: Either the applicant has claimed the information confidential, or it has not identified corresponding information.