The Future of Materials Systems 2026

Executive summary In the coming technological transformations, the real bottleneck is not innovation but materials. Production of electric vehicles, wind turbines, copper cables, batteries, data centres and robotic systems depends upon reliable and affordable access to a wide range of materials, such as steel, cement, copper, semiconductors, and rare and precious metals. Over time, global materials systems have evolved in complex ways, so that today, the extraction, processing, manufacturing, use and recovery of materials spans multiple countries and often continents. The resilience of these complex and interdependent systems is now being challenged. Factors such as rising dependence on concentrated sources of supply, geopolitical volatility and environmental pressures are amplifying risks, while a weakened multilateral system limits collective capacity to address them. Mitigating the risks to materials systems is therefore of increasing strategic importance for firms. Of 150 global business leaders surveyed for this report, nine out of 10 identified stronger international cooperation on materials as important or very important for their organization’s long-term success (see Figure 1).In a multipolar world, agile interest-based cooperation will be decisive in shaping resilient, productive and sustainable materials systems. Business leaders call for greater international cooperation on materials FIGURE 1 Source: The 92% datapoint comes from World Economic Forum survey of 150 global business leaders across six regions, 12 countries and 15 different industries, commissioned in December 2025 specially for this report. Technologies and industries depend on r esilient and af fordable access to a diverse and increasingly complex set of materials Concentrated supply , inconsistent trade policy and r eordering of global value chains ar e putting strain on material value chains 92% of business leaders call for gr eater international cooperation on materials to achieve resilience, pr oductivity and sustainability goals92%Growing need for international cooperation on materials Adapt cooperation appr oaches to a multipolar worldShift towar ds agile, inter est- based coalitions that can act on common goals 2Coor dinate systemic appr oach to cir cular economyCoor dinate acr oss bor ders to keep materials in use at their highest value 3Prioritize data, international standar ds and trade Focus cooperation ef forts around thr ee ar eas wher e progress is both feasible and mutually beneficialPillars for strengthened cooperation 1 The Future of Materials Systems: Cooperation Opportunities in a Multipolar World 4