Advanced materials are a key component of Europe’s strategic autonomy, competitiveness and resilience. The report prepared by SAPEA examines their importance for the EU and presents recommendations on how Europe can strengthen its position in the research, innovation, and commercialisation of advanced materials.
Advanced materials are and will continue to be present throughout our daily lives. They are materials that promote the technological and societal developments by providing improved or totally new performance. Advanced materials, for example, facilitate new battery and solar power technologies for energy sector, high speed electronics and photonics for information technology, diagnostics or release of pharmaceutics in healthcare, strong and lightweight construction for mobility, and sustainability and re-circulation of materials for green transition.
However, the global competition for advanced materials is increasing, also involving geopolitical issues. For this reason, the European Commission requested an assessment from the Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) on their significance for the EU’s strategic autonomy. The Advanced Materials report, assembled by SAPEA, examines in particular how advanced materials can strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy and how collaboration and knowledge transfer across innovation in the field can be enhanced.
According to the report, Europe’s position in advanced materials is weakened by fragmented research and innovation ecosystems, lower levels of private investment than in competing regions, insufficient digitalisation, and difficulties in transferring new solutions from research to market. In addition, the sector faces a shortage of the skills needed in the future. To address these gaps, several initiatives have been launched across Europe with the aim of strengthening Europe’s position as a global leader in advanced materials as worldwide demand continues to grow.
Olli Ikkala, Co-Chair of SAPEA’s Advanced Materials Working Group, highlights the importance of a coordinated European approach: “Europe needs coherent approaches in the pressure of global competition. Therein Finland can provide several expertizes, among other, related to renewable and biobased materials, re-circulation, quantum electronics, data-based materials and simulations.”
Key recommendations to support EU policy action
Prioritising core EU values – such as safety, sustainability, transparency and high level but well consideredproduction standards – could make the advanced materials sector a key driver of European competitiveness. At the same time, it would reinforce investor and consumer trust, support Europe’s long-term autonomy, and strengthen its geopolitical resilience.
To advance these objectives, the report presents five key recommendations to support EU policy action. It recommends that EU policies on advanced materials prioritise core EU values. It also highlights the importance of building data-based materials science and promoting the use of FAIR data, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and computational methods to accelerate the research and commercialisation of safe and sustainable advanced materials. The recommendations further call for the development of standards for advanced materials to ensure safety and sustainability throughout the technology development cycle and to facilitate market access. In addition, the report emphasises the need to strengthen ecosystems that accelerate the transfer of research and development results to the market, as well as investment in reinforcing the EU’s research and innovation strengths in advanced materials.
Read the full report here: link to report
Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) is a EU-funded project that provides independent scientific advice to European Commissioners to support their decision-making. SAPEA collaborates actively with European science academies. The Council of Finnish Academies appoints Finnish experts to SAPEA and to the working groups of other international scientific organisations, thereby strengthening the international impact of Finnish research.