Metamaterials Market Size, Share, and Trends 2024 to 2034

The global metamaterials market size was evaluated at USD 0.9 billion in 2022 and is projected to attain around USD 14.5 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 32.01% during the forecast period from 2023 to 2032.

Key Takeaways

• In 2022, on the basis of geography, North America holds the largest position in the global market with a revenue share of around 42.8%.
• In 2022, on the basis of product, the electromagnetic segment contributed more than 30% of revenue share.
• In 2022, on the basis of application, the antenna & radar segment holds the largest revenue share of around 43%.
• In 2022, on the basis of end-use, the aerospace and defense segments contributed more than 34% revenue share.

Metamaterials are a type of compound material structure, containing exceptional material parcels similar to aural, electrical, glamorous, and optic parcels. They include resonators manipulating electromagnetic swells or sound in ways not typically set up in nature. The physical parcel metamaterials parade is exceptionally similar as negative permittivity. The metamaterials permit masterminds to control the surge propagation by arranging the unit cells in colorful ways.

5G is a new-age technology allowing connecting the digital network in a flexible manner. 5G networks are anticipated to acclimatize to operations and will be acclimated to the requirements of end druggies. Metamaterial-based antennas or radars can perform exceptionally better than conventional systems in terms of effectiveness. As a result, metamaterial antennas will profit from the rapid acceptance of 5G. This will give tremendous openings to metamaterial requests in the coming future.

Growth Factors

The request growth is attributed to adding relinquishment of metamaterials in the defense, aerospace, and military high-end operations is also anticipated to boost the request growth. Moreover, the growing demand for metamaterials from communication antenna manufacturers is another factor that will drive the growth of metamaterials during the forecast period.

In addition, extensive investments by private and public stakeholders are anticipated to drive the request growth. Metamaterials are also high in demand from the telecommunication and medical sector. They're extensively used in the production of metamaterial lenses, detectors, and antennas, owing to their rare parcels. Adding demand for grapheme-grounded metamaterials in the medical field is fueling the growth of the metamaterials request. 

Metamaterials Market Scope

Metamaterials Market Dynamics

Key Market Drivers

• Increasing prevalence of RTA - Growing demand from the automotive industry for metamaterial products will drive the market further with the booming automotive sector in the coming years.
• A huge number of people belonging to the geriatric population - The growing use of metamaterials in the medical and telecommunications sectors to develop metamaterial lenses and antennas that can be more efficient than traditional old systems is expected to boost the market growth during the forecast period.
• Plastic and plastic surgery procedures - The demand for antennas is expected to increase during the forecast period, due to the increase in security requirements in the defense industry. Radar is used to detect any obstacles in the air and guide the aircraft. Metamaterials are mainly used for antennas and radars. These factors are expected to drive the demand for antennas and radars thereby driving the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Key Market Challenges 

• Disruption has occurred due to the emergence of COVID-19 - The spread of COVID-19 has affected businesses around the world. Lockdown orders have been adopted around the world. This has disrupted the global economy, with businesses closed or partially operating. This also affects the metamaterials business as all industries including defense, automotive, electronics, and aerospace, are affected by the covid-19 crisis and therefore suspended some ongoing projects and made small investments in new projects. As a result, the global market is growing slowly during the pandemic.
• Lack of skilled labor - Lack of awareness of the benefits of metamaterials and the associated technical complexities of their suitability for various applications is expected to hinder the growth of the market. 
• Variation in tensile strength - high raw material cost is another major factor holding back the market growth.

Key Market Opportunities

• Use of metamaterials in solar systems - The use of metamaterials in solar systems and metamaterial-based radars for drones presents a lucrative opportunity for the market. The lack of technology available for mass production is a major challenge for the market. Federal agencies spend heavily on research and development of metamaterials for aerospace and defense applications. Therefore, the demand for metamaterials in a vast range of applications is driven by the diversity of design features.
• Substantial government interest and investment - High investment from both public as well as private sectors to commercialize products are some of the opportunities for metaphysical market growth. 
• Diverse design features - Diverse design features, anti-reflective coating applications, and stealth cloaks for stealth aircraft are the key growth drivers for the metamaterials market. Growing demand from aviation and defense industries, increasing use of antennas for communication, and growing demand for mobile communications is driving the metamaterials market. 

Product Insights

The electromagnetic segment captured more than 30% revenue share in 2022 and is anticipated to hold the highest metamaterials market size during the forecast time period in terms of value. The growth can be attributed to the growing use of electromagnetic metamaterials for communications applications, including new forms of metamaterial-enabled personal communications radars and satellites.

Application Insights

The antenna & radar segment holds the highest share of around 43% in 2022. Rising demand for communication antennas for applications such as satellite communications, Wi-Fi routers, radar communications, and 5G communications is a key factor driving the growth of the metamaterials market.

End Use Insights

The aerospace and defense segments captured more than 34% revenue share in 2022. The defense industry needs customized solutions for communication. In the defense industries, the most widely used metamaterial devices are antennas, shields, windshields, EMC shields, and cloaking devices. Antennas can be used for secure communications in the defense sector, as they can be tuned according to required frequencies. The growth of the metamaterials market for aerospace and vertical defense is driven by the growing demand for bandwidth and the need for secure communications.

Regional Insights

North America holds the largest position in the global market with a revenue share of around 42.8% in 2022. The North American market is expected to hold the dominant position, followed by Europe, during the forecast period. This is due to an increase in research and development funding for the use of metamaterials in various applications. 

For example, in 2017, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in partnership with the U.S. Navy invested USD 8 million in grants to professors of science and technology Among all regions, in terms of revenue, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow with the fastest CAGR, due to increasing focus on developing new metamaterials for applications in the telecommunications and energy industries.

Recent Developments

• In June 2018 - Meta boards Limited (UK based start-up) through an investment round raised US$ 5 million for developing advanced 
• In April 2022 – Meta Materials Inc. acquired Plasma App Ltd. Plasma App developed a technology enabling high-speed coating of solid materials. Meta Materials Inc. will apply this technology in its production process for NANOWEB films and also for KolourOptik security films. 

Metamaterials Market Companies

• Acoustic Metamaterials Group Ltd
• Metamagnetics Inc.
• Echodyne, Inc.
• Advanced Research Projects Agency 
• Fractal Antenna Systems Inc.
• Kymeta Corporation
• JEM Engineering
• Metaboards Limited
• TeraView
• Nano-Meta Technologies, Inc.
• Metamaterial Technologies Inc.
• Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated

Segments Covered in the Report

(Note*: We offer reports based on sub-segments as well. Kindly, let us know if you are interested)

By Product

• Electromagnetic
• Terahertz
• Tunable
• Photonic
• Frequency Selective Surface (FSS)

By Application

• Antenna and Radar
• Sensors
• Cloaking Devices
• Super Lens
• Light
• Sound Filtering

By End Use

• Healthcare
• Telecommunication
• Aerospace and Defense
• Electronics
• Automotive

By Geography

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa (MEA)