Smart Materials Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2034

This report describes and explains the smart materials market and covers 2019-2024, termed the historic period, and 2024-2029, 2034F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global smart materials market reached a value of nearly $63.09 billion in 2024, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.11% since 2019. The market is expected to grow from $63.09 billion in 2024 to $109.56 billion in 2029 at a rate of 11.67%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.20% from 2029 and reach $178.06 billion in 2034.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rising demand from consumer electronics, expansion of the aerospace and defense sector, advancements in material science and nanotechnology and growth in wearable technology. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were the limited availability of raw materials and shortage of technical expertise and training.

Going forward, rising focus on energy efficiency and sustainability, rising use in automotive and transportation, emergence of industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing and rising adoption in healthcare and biomedical applications will drive growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the smart materials market in the future include impact of trade war and tariffs and strict regulatory and certification hurdles and high initial and production costs.

North America was the largest region in the smart materials market, accounting for 38.92% or $24.55 billion of the total in 2024. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the smart materials market will be Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe where growth will be at CAGRs of 14.41% and 12.50% respectively. These will be followed by Middle East and North America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 10.78% and 10.67% respectively.

The global smart materials market is fragmented, with a large number of small players operating in the market. The top 10 competitors in the market made up 10.47% of the total market in 2024. Evonik Industries AG was the largest competitor with a 7.63% share of the market, followed by 3M Company with 0.38%, DuPont de Nemours Inc. with 0.38%, BASF SE, with 0.35%, Covestro AG, with 0.33%, Toray Industries Inc. with 0.32%, Arkema S.A. with 0.31%, Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. with 0.29%, Kyocera Corporation with 0.28% and QinetiQ Group with 0.20%.

The smart materials market is segmented by product type into piezoelectric materials, electro-rheostatic, magneto-rheostatic, shape memory materials, smart fluids, smart hydrogels, electrochromic materials and other product types. The piezoelectric materials market was the largest segment of the smart materials market segmented by product type, accounting for 35.47% or $22.38 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the shape memory materials segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the smart materials market segmented by product type, at a CAGR of 17.95% during 2024-2029.

The smart materials market is segmented by application type into transducers, actuators and motors, sensors, structural materials, coating and other applications. The actuators and motors market was the largest segment of the smart materials market segmented by application type, accounting for 39.39% or $24.85 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the sensors segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the smart materials market segmented by application type, at a CAGR of 16.67% during 2024-2029.

The smart materials market is segmented by end user into industrial, defense and aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, healthcare and other end user. The defense and aerospace market was the largest segment of the smart materials market segmented by end user, accounting for 30.88% or $19.48 billion of the total in 2024. Going forward, the healthcare segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the smart materials market segmented by end user, at a CAGR of 17.12% during 2024-2029.

The top opportunities in the smart materials market segmented by product type will arise in the shape memory materials segment, which will gain $11.8 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the smart materials market segmented by application type will arise in the actuators and motors segment, which will gain $19.77 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The top opportunities in the smart materials market segmented by end user will arise in the defense and aerospace segment, which will gain $13.38 billion of global annual sales by 2029. The smart materials market size will gain the most in the USA at $11.48 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the smart materials market include introduction of large-format electrochromic glazing, launch of lead-free ultrasonic flow metering solutions in smart materials, collaboration on electrochromic window lamination, launch of biodegradable & biocompatible shape-memory resin for smart materials applications, development of lead-free piezoelectric materials, development of liquid thermoplastic polyurethane (LTPU).

Player-adopted strategies in the smart materials market include focusing on strategic partnerships to enhance its business offerings, business expertise and expanding its operational capabilities through new launches.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the smart materials market companies to focus on large-format electrochromic glazing for automotive and architectural applications, focus on lead-free ultrasonic flow metering solutions for sustainable applications, focus on electrochromic window lamination for automotive and architectural applications, focus on biodegradable and biocompatible shape-memory resins for biomedical applications, focus on lead-free piezoelectric materials for sustainable electronics and sensor applications, focus on liquid thermoplastic polyurethane (ltpu) for sustainable footwear applications, focus on electro-rheostatic materials for high-growth applications, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, provide competitively priced offerings, continue to use b2b promotions, focus on sensors segment to drive end-user engagement, focus on healthcare end-users to accelerate market growth.