1.3.2. Rationale and Union added value

New advanced materials are needed in developing better performing and sustainable products and processes and for substituting scarce resources. Such materials are a part of the solution to our industrial and societal challenges, offering better performance in their use, lower resource and energy requirements, and sustainability during the entire life-cycle of the products. Application-driven development often involves the design of totally new materials, with the ability to deliver planned in-service performances. Such materials are an important element in the supply chain of high value manufacturing. They are also the basis for progress in cross-cutting technology areas (for example healthcare technologies, biosciences, electronics and photonics) and in virtually all market sectors. The materials themselves represent a key step in increasing the value of products and their performance. The estimated value and impact of advanced materials is significant, with an annual growth rate of about 6 % and expected market size of the order of EUR 100 billion by 2015. Materials shall be conceived according to a full life-cycle approach, from the supply of available materials to end of life (cradle to cradle), with innovative approaches to minimise the resources (including energy) required for their transformation or to minimise negative impacts for humans and the environment. Continuous use, recycling or secondary end-of-life utilisation of the materials shall also be covered, as well as related societal innovation, such as changes in consumer behaviour and new business models. To accelerate progress, a multidisciplinary and convergent approach shall be fostered, involving chemistry, physics, engineering sciences, theoretical and computational modelling, biological sciences and increasingly creative industrial design. Novel green innovation alliances and industrial symbiosis shall be fostered allowing industries to diversify and expand their business models, re-using their waste as a basis for new productions.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-03 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.