Materials are physical substances used as inputs to production, and range from natural entities such as copper or wood to man made synthetics like polymers or composites.
The technology is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties and structure of matter. Materials are essential to almost all industry sectors.
Products, process plant, packaging and their performance in specific applications are critically dependent on the development and application of materials.
Growth rates
In the UK material businesses are estimated to have an annual turnover and gross value added of over £200 billion and £60 billion respectively. These figures suggest comparative figures of £20 billion and £6 billion respectively for the Scottish materials industry. Growth rates in the sector as a whole tends to follow World GDP growth rate but in particular sectors rates are higher especially in Nanotechnology sectors where double digit growth is common.
There are five focus areas for technologies:
- Composites
- Advanced Coatings and Thin Films
- Technical Textiles
- Metals & Alloys
- Nanotechnology and Surface Functionalisation.