This is the first of a four-part series which will dive deeper into Advanced Materials. This series would not have been possible without the research conducted by Sanjana Vijay, Research Analyst Intern at Speciale Invest, whose effort significantly shaped its content.

Step into an airport terminal, ride in an electric vehicle, or hold a smartphone — and you're already interacting with advanced materials. Though invisible to most end users, these engineered materials underpin many of the critical innovations shaping our modern world.

From mobility and electronics to infrastructure and energy, advanced materials are enabling a new wave of performance, efficiency, and sustainability. As investors in deep science and emerging technologies, we see them not as a vertical but as a horizontal platform — one that quietly powers progress across industries.

In this piece, we define what advanced materials are, explore where and how they’re being adopted, and examine the capital flows accelerating their development.

What Are Advanced Materials?

Advanced materials are designed to outperform conventional materials in strength, weight, conductivity, flexibility, or environmental resilience. These include:

• High-performance composites for aerospace and mobility
  
• Thermally conductive ceramics for heat dissipation in electronics
  
• Self-healing polymers and smart coatings for infrastructure durability
  
• Nanostructured materials for precision electronics
  
• Bio-compatible polymers for medical applications
  

Each of these innovations is developed to overcome specific limitations of legacy materials — whether to enable lightweight electric vehicles, extend the life of electronic components, or unlock entirely new capabilities like foldable displays and corrosion-resistant infrastructure.

From Bronze Age to Engineered Molecules

Materials innovation has historically marked inflection points in civilization — from the Bronze and Iron Ages to the industrial revolutions driven by steel and aluminum.

In the last century, this evolution has become increasingly deliberate. The emergence of polymers, semiconductors, and composites in the mid-20th century has now given way to carbon nanotubes, 2D materials, quantum dots, and more.

Today, computational modeling, machine learning, and novel manufacturing techniques — including additive manufacturing and roll-to-roll deposition — are accelerating both discovery and commercialization.

Sectoral Relevance

Advanced materials are not theoretical developments — they are already being deployed at scale across multiple sectors:

• Mobility: Fiber-reinforced polymers and specialty adhesives are used by companies such as Tata Motors and Boeing to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.
  

• Energy Storage: Battery makers like LG Energy Solution and CATL use advanced separators and thermal interface materials to improve thermal stability and performance
  

• Consumer Electronics: Flexible substrates and thin polymer layers are integral to foldable devices from Samsung and Apple
  

• Infrastructure: Self-healing cementitious materials from players like Basilisk (Netherlands) and academic groups such as IIT Bhilai are being tested to extend the lifespan of civil structures.
  

• Healthcare: Hydrogels and smart polymers are enabling next-generation medical devices and drug delivery systems.
  
  

These examples reflect a broader shift: the role of materials is becoming as strategic as the design of the final product.

Market Size and Trajectory

The global market for advanced materials was estimated at $61 billion in 2023, and is projected to reach $130 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9–10%.

Importantly, this is not a siloed market — it is a foundational layer that enables growth and innovation across multiple industries. The value of advanced materials compounds through their downstream impact in sectors such as aerospace, semiconductors, automotive, energy, and healthcare.

Key Material Classes

Advanced materials broadly fall into the following categories:

• Nanomaterials: Including graphene and carbon nanotubes, offering unique properties at the atomic scale
  
  
• Composites: Engineered combinations that enhance strength-to-weight ratios and corrosion resistance
  
  
• Smart Materials: Such as self-healing polymers and shape-memory alloys that respond to stimuli
  
  
• Functional Coatings: Used in semiconductors, marine, and architectural applications for surface protection and reactivity
  
  
• High-Performance Polymers: With elasticity, thermal stability, or biocompatibility for use in medical and industrial environments
  
  
• 2D Materials: Such as MXenes and MoS₂, under research for next-gen electronics and energy storage
  
  

While some of these classes — like composites and coatings — are widely adopted, others (e.g., MXenes or bio-based smart polymers) are still moving from research into early commercial deployment

Government and Policy Support

Governments are significantly expanding their support for advanced materials R&D.

• In the U.S., over $72.5 million has been invested through the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) initiative by the National Science Foundation. The CHIPS and Science Act includes funding for semiconductor packaging and related materials innovation.
  
  
• The Department of Energy (DOE), through ARPA-E and EERE, is sponsoring the development of materials for clean energy, lightweight vehicles, and circular economy goals.
  
  
• In the UK, the Henry Royce Institute has received over £350 million to build a national infrastructure for advanced materials research and scale-up.
  
  
• In India, national labs and IITs are increasingly active in research and testing of next-gen materials, including coatings, bio-polymers, and battery interfaces.
  
  

Public funding remains a vital force in moving technologies from early-stage research to industry-scale deployment.

What Drives Adoption?

The commercial success of a new material is rarely about performance alone. Key enablers include:

• Compatibility with existing manufacturing processes
• Favorable regulatory designation
• Scalability of supply
• Demonstrated durability over the product lifecycle
  
  

Once a material is validated and integrated, switching costs are high — making timing of adoption critical, but also offering long-term defensibility for successful solutions.

Looking Ahead

Advanced materials are steadily transitioning from the lab bench to industrial production lines. They are no longer an edge case, but a core enabler of next-generation products and systems.

In future pieces in this series, we will explore specific material classes — from graphene and MXenes to functional adhesives and self-healing polymers. Each case will offer insights into how deep technical readiness, commercial relevance, and investor discipline must align for successful market entry.

The field continues to reward those who can see around corners, identify early but meaningful use cases, and commit to the long-term arc of innovation.

If you’re building in next-generation advanced materials, please do write to us on info@specialeinvest.com 

We at Speciale Invest believe in supporting breakthrough technologies that have the potential to solve pressing global problems. As early stage investors, we like to get our hands dirty early on and support founders in their zero to one journey with patient capital, business development opportunities and hiring. We enjoy and thrive on the risk that comes with backing deep-tech startups at the pre-product stage and help through product-market fit, early customers and scale-up. To know more about Speciale’s investments in disruptive technologies, please check our portfolio ‍