The Future of Materials Systems 2026

Rising pressures on global materials systems1 Materials are moving to the forefront of business agendas as geoeconomic, technological and environmental pressures rise. The technologies that shape modern economies, from electric vehicles and wind turbines to semiconductors, data centres and robotics, are fundamentally dependent on affordable and reliable access to a wide range of materials, spanning high- volume industrial inputs, such as steel, cement, copper and rare earth minerals. Over decades, complex global materials systems have evolved to deliver reliable access to this wide array of inputs. These systems coordinate and govern the flow of materials throughout their full life cycle, from extraction, processing and manufacturing to use and recovery. They are comprised of a number of interconnected components spanning shared digital and physical infrastructures, an international governance architecture, trade and logistics networks, technology, innovation and knowledge systems and many others (see Figure 2).1.1 Materials systems are under strain The Future of Materials Systems: Cooperation Opportunities in a Multipolar World 6