2025 Outlook on Future Trends of the New Materials Industry: Technological Breakthroughs Reshaping the Industrial Landscape

Against the global backdrop of carbon neutrality, low-carbon and green materials have become an inevitable trend. Policies such as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and China’s 14th Five-Year Plan Special Program for New Materials are accelerating the iterative upgrading of the materials industry. BASF’s €3-billion investment in developing bio-based polyamide and CATL’s ‘Qilin Battery’ material system receiving certification from a national-level laboratory exemplify enterprises’ proactive engagement—under policy guidance—in R&D and application of low-carbon materials. These initiatives not only create new growth opportunities for the enterprises themselves but also set benchmarks for the global materials industry’s green transition, steering the entire sector toward greater environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, the wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution—driving rapid advances in frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing—is fostering deep integration with materials science, giving rise to a series of disruptive technological breakthroughs. DeepMind’s GNoME system, which predicted 2.17 million novel crystal structures, and IBM’s collaboration with DuPont to develop composites resistant to extreme environments, have dramatically shortened new materials’ R&D cycles and reduced costs, while offering entirely new approaches to challenges long deemed insurmountable by conventional materials. Such technological leaps have unprecedentedly enhanced material performance and functionality, opening vast prospects for the future development of the new materials industry. In this context, six core technology tracks have emerged as pivotal drivers: solid-state battery materials, superconducting materials, bio-based biodegradable materials, wide-bandgap semiconductor materials, stimuli-responsive smart materials, and metamaterials. Toyota’s progress toward mass production of all-solid-state batteries; Western Superconducting’s industrial breakthrough in liquid-nitrogen-temperature superconducting tapes; Cathay Biotech’s disruptive innovation in ‘bio-based long-chain dicarboxylic acids’; Tianyue Advanced’s yield breakthrough in 8-inch silicon carbide substrates; Goer’s mass production of electrochromic smart glasses; and Shenzhen Kuang-Chi Technologies’ successful application of metamaterial stealth skins—all represent major advances within their respective domains and exert profound impacts across related industries. These innovations either enhance electric vehicle performance and safety, improve energy transmission efficiency, unlock trillion-yuan replacement markets, provide critical support for 5G/6G communications and new-energy vehicles, introduce novel human–machine interfaces for intelligent devices, or even redefine physical laws—demonstrating the immense potential and broad prospects of new materials across diverse fields. Looking ahead to 2025, strategic focus areas for the new materials industry have become clearly defined. Materials nearing commercialization thresholds—such as solid-state electrolytes and perovskite photovoltaic materials—are expected to achieve large-scale commercial deployment within the next few years, becoming key engines of industrial growth. Technologies with potential to restructure entire supply chains—such as molecular-level self-assembling materials and hydrogen-embrittlement-inhibiting alloys—will exert far-reaching influence across the value chain, driving industrial upgrading and restructuring. In geopolitically sensitive domains, achieving autonomous supply capability for critical materials—including extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresists and high-purity quartz sand—is vital to safeguarding national industrial security and economic stability. These strategic priorities not only chart a clear course for the new materials industry’s development but also present significant business opportunities for relevant enterprises.

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This trend is expected to catalyze a massive equipment market. Morgan Stanley forecasts that, by 2029, the potential market size for distributed power generation equipment in the United States will reach approximately 120 GW—representing an equipment market opportunity of roughly USD 240 billion. Of this, about 77 GW stems from unmet power supply needs at data centers, and around 40 GW arises from newly emerging demand in commercial and industrial sectors. Morgan Stanley believes distributed power generation is not merely a temporary solution pending expansion of traditional grid infrastructure, but rather may evolve into a fundamental component of future power infrastructure. (Source: Cailian Press) 07 Chery Automobile, BYD, SAIC Motor, and others are accelerating solid-state battery development—‘vehicle integration’ speeds up On October 12, a Chery Automobile executive confirmed to reporters from the Shanghai Securities Journal that the company’s battery division is steadily advancing its solid-state battery R&D. On October 8, Chery launched multiple procurement projects for solid-state battery equipment targeting 2026, covering core areas including R&D, fabrication, and testing. Chery is not alone: interviews reveal that BYD, SAIC Motor, Dongfeng Motor, and other leading Chinese automakers with new-energy businesses are all intensifying their solid-state battery R&D efforts. Industry experts told reporters that integrating solid-state batteries into vehicles represents one of the primary directions for global automotive electrification—and is thus a highly contested strategic domain. As competition in the new-energy vehicle sector intensifies, it is foreseeable that major Chinese automakers will launch their own solid-state battery-powered models, while domestic battery supply-chain enterprises will seize new industry opportunities. (Source: Shanghai Securities Journal) 08 Dow launches VOLTRICELL battery materials platform for next-generation battery technologies On October 12, Dow Company announced the launch of its VOLTRICELL battery materials platform, designed to optimize battery manufacturing processes and enhance battery performance—applicable to both existing battery technologies and emerging ones such as sodium-ion batteries, silicon-anode batteries, and solid-state batteries. The platform integrates binders, dispersants, rheology modifiers, surfactants, and specialty additives, covering applications across electrodes, separators, coatings, and cell packaging. Dow stated this is its first dedicated materials platform supporting internal electrochemical performance of battery cells. Additionally, the company plans to showcase fire-retardant battery materials at the 2026 North America Battery Show. (Source: Cailian Press) 09 New-energy vehicle sales share in China reaches 53.6% in the first three quarters According to Xinhua News Agency, on October 12, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that in the first three quarters of 2026, China’s new-energy vehicle production and sales reached 12.483 million and 12.472 million units respectively—both growing over 10% year-on-year—while the cumulative share of new-energy vehicle sales among all new vehicle sales rose to 53.6%. In September alone, production and sales hit 1.814 million and 1.823 million units respectively, increasing 12.2% and 13.6% year-on-year, with the monthly new-energy vehicle sales share reaching a record high of 61.6%. (Source: Xinhua News Agency) 10 Taiwanese firms and Tesla co-found AIDC Alliance—place 1 GWh energy storage system order! On October 11, 2026, Apollo Power—a publicly listed Taiwanese enterprise—announced in a press release that it has jointly established the ‘AIDC & Enterprise Resilient Grid Strategic Alliance’ with Tesla Motor Taiwan Ltd., Gigabyte Technology, Phison Electronics, and Siling Electric Machinery Factory. Simultaneously, Apollo Power announced on October 8 that it signed a procurement agreement with Tesla Motor Taiwan for Tesla Megapack 2XL large-scale energy storage systems, ordering a total of 260 units—equivalent to approximately 1 GWh of storage capacity. This marks one of the largest single enterprise-level energy storage procurement orders ever placed by a Taiwanese company.

Dow Launches VOLTRICELL™ Battery Cell Materials Platform to Advance Next-Generation Battery Innovation

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Dow Inc. unveiled VOLTRICELL™, a new battery cell materials platform designed to optimize manufacturing and enhance performance for technologies like sodium-ion and solid-state. New fire protection materials were also showcased at The Battery Show North America 2026.

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2026-10-13

Dow Launches VOLTRICELL™ Battery Cell Materials Platform to Advance Next-Generation Battery Innovation

Dow Launches VOLTRICELL™ Battery Cell Materials Platform to Advance Next-Generation Battery Innovation

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