New UK roadmap highlights potential of metamaterials to advance critical technologies

A new UK Metamaterials Commercialisation Roadmap has been published, setting out a strategy to accelerate the development and commercial adoption of metamaterial technologies, with significant opportunities for the UK’s critical technologies sector.

Metamaterials are engineered structures designed to achieve properties not typically found in conventional materials. Their ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves and other physical responses offers opportunities across critical technologies, particularly photonics and sensing & connectivity, with wider connections to quantum and semiconductors.

The roadmap highlights potential applications including optical and photonic metasurfaces, next-generation telecommunications antennas, and advanced sensing and imaging systems, with opportunities across sectors such as defence, healthcare and communications.

Building on the UK’s established research strengths, the roadmap identifies five priorities to support commercialisation: ecosystem coordination, innovation, manufacturing and scale-up, standards and regulation, and skills development.

For Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster, metamaterials represent an important cross-cutting capability with the potential to underpin and advance several of its core technologies. The roadmap provides a valuable framework for strengthening collaboration, translating research into practical applications and supporting future industrial opportunities.

With strengths spanning research, innovation and advanced manufacturing, Scotland’s critical technologies ecosystem is well positioned to contribute to the development and commercialisation of metamaterials. Existing activity includes Technology Scotland’s Metamaterials Special Interest Group, run in partnership with the University of St Andrews, which supports knowledge exchange and collaboration across the community.

The publication marks a positive step towards realising the commercial potential of metamaterials and supporting innovation across the technologies shaping future industries.

Congratulations to Institute of Physics, Innovate UK, EPSRC, Dstl, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and the Metamaterials Network on the publication of this roadmap in partnership with BIST.

Read the roadmap: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-metamaterials-commercialisation-strategic-roadmap/metamaterials-commercialisation-roadmap/