Perspective: Towards sustainable exploration of chemical spaces with machine learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sandonas, Leonardo Medrano, Balcells, David, Bochkarev, Anton, Cole, Jacqueline M., Deringer, Volker L., Dobrautz, Werner, Ehrenhofer, Adrian, Frank, Thorben, Friederich, Pascal, Friedrich, Rico, George, Janine, Ghiringhelli, Luca, Caldas, Alejandra Hinostroza, Juraskova, Veronika, Kneiding, Hannes, Lysogorskiy, Yury, Margraf, Johannes T., Türk, Hanna, von Lilienfeld, Anatole, Todorović, Milica, Tkatchenko, Alexandre, Rossi, Mariana, Cuniberti, Gianaurelio
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Sandonas, Leonardo Medrano
Balcells, David
Bochkarev, Anton
Cole, Jacqueline M.
Deringer, Volker L.
Dobrautz, Werner
Ehrenhofer, Adrian
Frank, Thorben
Friederich, Pascal
Friedrich, Rico
George, Janine
Ghiringhelli, Luca
Caldas, Alejandra Hinostroza
Juraskova, Veronika
Kneiding, Hannes
Lysogorskiy, Yury
Margraf, Johannes T.
Türk, Hanna
von Lilienfeld, Anatole
Todorović, Milica
Tkatchenko, Alexandre
Rossi, Mariana
Cuniberti, Gianaurelio
author_facet Sandonas, Leonardo Medrano
Balcells, David
Bochkarev, Anton
Cole, Jacqueline M.
Deringer, Volker L.
Dobrautz, Werner
Ehrenhofer, Adrian
Frank, Thorben
Friederich, Pascal
Friedrich, Rico
George, Janine
Ghiringhelli, Luca
Caldas, Alejandra Hinostroza
Juraskova, Veronika
Kneiding, Hannes
Lysogorskiy, Yury
Margraf, Johannes T.
Türk, Hanna
von Lilienfeld, Anatole
Todorović, Milica
Tkatchenko, Alexandre
Rossi, Mariana
Cuniberti, Gianaurelio
contents Artificial intelligence is transforming molecular and materials science, but its growing computational and data demands raise critical sustainability challenges. In this Perspective, we examine resource considerations across the AI-driven discovery pipeline--from quantum-mechanical (QM) data generation and model training to automated, self-driving research workflows--building on discussions from the ``SusML workshop: Towards sustainable exploration of chemical spaces with machine learning'' held in Dresden, Germany. In this context, the availability of large quantum datasets has enabled rigorous benchmarking and rapid methodological progress, while also incurring substantial energy and infrastructure costs. We highlight emerging strategies to enhance efficiency, including general-purpose machine learning (ML) models, multi-fidelity approaches, model distillation, and active learning. Moreover, incorporating physics-based constraints within hierarchical workflows, where fast ML surrogates are applied broadly and high-accuracy QM methods are used selectively, can further optimize resource use without compromising reliability. Equally important is bridging the gap between idealized computational predictions and real-world conditions by accounting for synthesizability and multi-objective design criteria, which is essential for practical impact. Finally, we argue that sustainable progress will rely on open data and models, reusable workflows, and domain-specific AI systems that maximize scientific value per unit of computation, enabling efficient and responsible discovery of technological materials and therapeutics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_00069
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Perspective: Towards sustainable exploration of chemical spaces with machine learning
Sandonas, Leonardo Medrano
Balcells, David
Bochkarev, Anton
Cole, Jacqueline M.
Deringer, Volker L.
Dobrautz, Werner
Ehrenhofer, Adrian
Frank, Thorben
Friederich, Pascal
Friedrich, Rico
George, Janine
Ghiringhelli, Luca
Caldas, Alejandra Hinostroza
Juraskova, Veronika
Kneiding, Hannes
Lysogorskiy, Yury
Margraf, Johannes T.
Türk, Hanna
von Lilienfeld, Anatole
Todorović, Milica
Tkatchenko, Alexandre
Rossi, Mariana
Cuniberti, Gianaurelio
Machine Learning
Materials Science
Artificial Intelligence
I.6.1; I.6.3; I.6.5; I.6.6; I.6.8
Artificial intelligence is transforming molecular and materials science, but its growing computational and data demands raise critical sustainability challenges. In this Perspective, we examine resource considerations across the AI-driven discovery pipeline--from quantum-mechanical (QM) data generation and model training to automated, self-driving research workflows--building on discussions from the ``SusML workshop: Towards sustainable exploration of chemical spaces with machine learning'' held in Dresden, Germany. In this context, the availability of large quantum datasets has enabled rigorous benchmarking and rapid methodological progress, while also incurring substantial energy and infrastructure costs. We highlight emerging strategies to enhance efficiency, including general-purpose machine learning (ML) models, multi-fidelity approaches, model distillation, and active learning. Moreover, incorporating physics-based constraints within hierarchical workflows, where fast ML surrogates are applied broadly and high-accuracy QM methods are used selectively, can further optimize resource use without compromising reliability. Equally important is bridging the gap between idealized computational predictions and real-world conditions by accounting for synthesizability and multi-objective design criteria, which is essential for practical impact. Finally, we argue that sustainable progress will rely on open data and models, reusable workflows, and domain-specific AI systems that maximize scientific value per unit of computation, enabling efficient and responsible discovery of technological materials and therapeutics.
title Perspective: Towards sustainable exploration of chemical spaces with machine learning
topic Machine Learning
Materials Science
Artificial Intelligence
I.6.1; I.6.3; I.6.5; I.6.6; I.6.8
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.00069