Industry Agenda Advanced Materials Systems Chemistry and Advanced Materials

The report argues that traditional materials R&D is declining in viability due to long cycle times and a disconnect from end-user needs. It introduces the Advanced Materials Systems (AMS) framework, which emphasizes combining existing materials and process technologies through collaborative partnerships to create functional solutions. The document identifies key barriers to AMS adoption, including rigid corporate cultures, a lack of systems-level engineering skills, and an ageing workforce. It provides case studies across agriculture, construction, electronics, energy, healthcare, and mobility to demonstrate the potential of systems-level design to reduce time-to-market and increase value capture.

• Traditional materials R&D cycles are excessively long, typically taking 10 to 20 years from lab discovery to market deployment.
• The AMS framework can potentially reduce materials innovation lifecycles from the current 10-20 year range down to 4 to 6 years by integrating end-user needs and novel business models.
• Companies acting as systems integrators achieved higher financial returns than commodity materials providers, with an average of 11% higher annual returns between 2004 and 2014.
• The chemical industry faces a significant talent crisis characterized by an ageing workforce, where 23% of US chemical employees will be eligible for retirement within 10 years.
• There is a substantial gap in general problem-solving and math skills among US manufacturing employees, which hinders the implementation of AMS.
• Feedstock price volatility and consumer demand for sustainable products are identified as two critical, interdependent megatrends impacting the industry.
• The industry can leverage a massive existing inventory of chemicals—over 84,000 listed by the US EPA as of January 2015—to create systems-level solutions instead of focusing solely on new molecule discovery.
• Cultural inertia and rigid internal structures are the primary obstacles to transformational change, with 46% of global chemical companies having limited means to reposition capital investments over the next decade.
• Value capture is shifting away from traditional patent-heavy models toward non-traditional differentiation, such as ecosystem positioning, proprietary logistics, and strategic partnerships.

APA

World Economic Forum (2016). Industry Agenda Advanced Materials Systems Chemistry and Advanced Materials. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advanced_Materials_Systems_Chemistry_Advanced_Materials_report_2016.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Industry Agenda Advanced Materials Systems Chemistry and Advanced Materials. 2016. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advanced_Materials_Systems_Chemistry_Advanced_Materials_report_2016.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Industry Agenda Advanced Materials Systems Chemistry and Advanced Materials |date=March 2016 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advanced_Materials_Systems_Chemistry_Advanced_Materials_report_2016.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2016industry, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Industry Agenda Advanced Materials Systems Chemistry and Advanced Materials}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2016}, month = mar, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advanced_Materials_Systems_Chemistry_Advanced_Materials_report_2016.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }