21-07-2026
Photo: João Lima/NOVA FCT
A study, recently published in the journal Nature Communications, charts a path to ensuring secure and resilient access to the advanced materials at the heart of European technological innovation. The study was developed by researchers from CENIMAT/i3N at the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade NOVA de Lisboa | NOVA FCT, in collaboration with partners from international universities.
Advanced materials are complex substances developed through the strategic transformation of raw materials, giving rise to new materials with innovative properties that enable significant advances in emerging technologies such as batteries, electronics, semiconductors, and photovoltaic panels.
However, the study indicates that many of these materials depend on raw materials with vulnerable supply chains, dominated by a single source, such as rare earth elements from China, cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or lithium from Chile. In a context of growing instability in global supply chains, marked by geopolitical tensions and trade wars, Europe needs to ensure that next-generation technologies — vital for sectors such as energy, health, and industry — are built with materials to which we will have secure access.
The proposed solution is a new method for identifying which advanced materials offer state-of-the-art performance while simultaneously originating in Europe.
The researchers who authored the study developed a "self-reliance index" to measure the degree of European independence, not just for isolated elements, but for any combination of elements and even for complete devices. By cross-referencing this index with performance data from a wide range of advanced materials — including conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, battery electrodes, and photovoltaic layers — the results reveal that high-performance materials based on imported elements have, in almost all cases, European-origin alternatives with comparable performance.
Based on this finding, the researchers propose the creation of a category called "strategic advanced materials," defined as materials that combine high technological performance with the use of locally available raw materials. These conclusions will be fundamental for European legislation, such as the future Advanced Materials Act, and for funding programs like Horizon Europe. Whereas the selection of materials previously focused mainly on maximum performance, their identification should now also incorporate criteria such as supply security, technological sovereignty, and economic resilience.
"The need for secure access to our advanced materials is clear. Our study provides the decision-making tools needed for researchers, industry, and policymakers to base future European technologies on secure material foundations. Our goal is to help strengthen supply chain resilience and promote European technological sovereignty," says researcher Adam Kelly, from CENIMAT|i3N at NOVA FCT.
The study's authors are researchers from CENIMAT|i3N at NOVA FCT: Cristina Teixeira, Manuel J. Mendes, Elvira Fortunato, Rodrigo Martins, Luis Pereira, and Adam G. Kelly. The research was carried out in partnership with researchers from other universities: Cian Gabbett (Trinity College Dublin); Kevin Synnatschke (Technische Universität Dresden); Jonathan N. Coleman (Trinity College Dublin); and Zdenek Sofer (University of Chemistry and Technology Prague).
You can read the study here.
