IAM-I Vision 2040: Europe has the science. Now it needs the speed.
Date
Mon, 09/07/2026
Brussels, 7 September 2026 — Today, the Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative (IAM-I) launches its Vision 2040, calling for a fundamental change in how Europe develops and industrialises advanced materials, with the ambition of roughly halving the time from laboratory discovery to market, from today’s 10–20 years towards 5–10 years.
Advanced materials are the foundation of Europe’s industry, underpinning technologies across clean energy, mobility, electronics, construction, health and the digital economy. Yet Europe remains too slow to turn its strong research and development capabilities into industrial strength. The journey from discovery to first industrial use is still fragmented, with research, development, scale-up and deployment often operating as separate steps rather than as one connected system.
IAM-I Vision 2040 proposes a new 21st-century way of working — the HOW: a connected European system that links data, infrastructure and people and carries an advanced material from first idea to industrial use without breaking the chain.
The building blocks already exist or are within reach: self-driving laboratories, a shared European data space through Materials Commons, Europe’s large research facilities, and technology infrastructures such as pilot lines, test beds and digital innovation hubs. The challenge is to connect them through shared data, standards and methodologies so that they work as one system.
“Europe has the science. What we need now is the speed and the system to turn that scientific strength into industrial leadership,” said Fabrice Stassin, Chair of IAM-I. “Vision 2040 is about connecting the capabilities Europe already has and making them work together to bring materials from the lab to the market much faster.”
A window Europe cannot afford to miss
The launch comes at a critical moment for European innovation and industrial policy. Horizon Europe 2028–2034, the European Competitiveness Fund and the forthcoming Advanced Materials Act are taking shape at the same time, creating a rare opportunity to reshape how Europe develops advanced materials.
Europe does not need to start from scratch. Through IAM-I, a community of more than 300 members across industry and research is already in place. The next step is to connect thecapabilities and operate them as one European system.
“The challenge is not simply to invest more in advanced materials, but to change how innovation happens,” said Eva-Kathrin Schillinger, Secretary General of IAM-I. “We need to connect data, infrastructures, methods and people, and prove that this new way of working can deliver for real industrial needs.”
The proposed IAM4EU⁺ partnership under Horizon Europe 2028–2034 would develop and demonstrate the methods and blueprints needed to make this connected system work. Working on strategically important advanced materials, projects would create approaches that can be tested, validated and reused across Europe’s innovation ecosystem and strategic technologies, including chips, batteries, hydrogen, quantum and beyond.
The Vision identifies four priorities for making this shift: connecting discovery to validation, strengthening value-chain collaboration and market pull, improving the route from laboratory results to industrial scale-up, and accelerating qualification and standards.
IAM-I calls on industry, research organisations and partners across the advanced materials ecosystem to endorse the Vision, and stands ready to work with the European Commission, Member States and policymakers to turn its ambitions into action.
Vision 2040 is available online, and organisations across Europe are invited to endorse the Vision and join the effort to build a faster, more connected advanced materials innovation system.
The science is in place. The instruments are aligning. The moment to act is now.
About IAM-I
The Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative (IAM-I) is the voice of European R&I in advanced materials. With more than 300 stakeholders across sectors, IAM-I builds a cross-disciplinary research and innovation ecosystem that accelerates the research, development, industrial deployment and market uptake of advanced materials. IAM-I supports Europe’s goals for technological sovereignty and industrial leadership and operates the co-programmed partnership Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe (IAM4EU).
Contact
Gemma Garcia
Communication Officer
+34 699 48 03 05
