The smart materials market is now projected to reach a US$100+ billion valuation by 2026

Smart materials are purpose-designed compounds developed to exhibit a state-change in response to specific factors. They include electric or magnetic fields, light, moisture, pH, physical forces, temperature or other chemicals. These materials are likely to be the basis of sensors that help manufacturers address the demand for electronics that go beyond the forms or functions to which they are restricted today. This, then, may include next-gen flexible or bendable consumer-grade products.

Smart materials also have different ranges of applications in the aerospace and defense industries. Furthermore, their use in additional specific components, particularly transducers and actuators, is rapidly emerging. They may also underpin the development of the medical prosthetics or augmentations of the future. Accordingly, the smart materials market is now projected to grow at a compound annual rate (or CAGR) of 15%, until it reaches US$127 billion in 2026. 

Despite this impressive growth rate, there are issues that may affect its realization in the future. They include an observed gap in the skills and knowledge needed to design these materials and their applications, as well as poor familiarity with the same among end consumers. Nevertheless, North America is thought to become a prominent regional sector over the time-period studied in the latest analysis of the smart materials market.