Metamaterials for Industrial Applications Conference

Join us on 2nd February 2022 for the first international Metamaterials conference focusing on commercial and industrial applications. These advanced materials can offer advantage in a wide variety of sectors and across various technology capabilities.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Sir John Pendry ​​FRS, Chair in Theoretical Solid State Physics at Imperial College London, will deliver the opening keynote address.

Joining him in the plenary session will be two US speakers; Professor David Smith of Duke University who has a wealth of experience spinning out new companies exploiting metamaterials technology and Casey Tegreene who, investing through Invention Science Fund has a unique perspective on the process that took technology from basic scientific research to commercialisation.

Over a day, high-profile speakers and exclusive exhibitors will be sharing their expertise and exploring the functionalities of these smart materials by sector and application. They will especially highlight their benefits and challenges to be addressed in their design and manufacture. We will also try to answer the question: how can we make metamaterials more commercially attractive?

Knowledge Exchange & Networking Opportunities

The UK stands as number three in global metamaterials research and development and seeks to create strong links to industry and commercial activities.  Numerous market research studies predict very significant growth over the next decade, for example, the metamaterial device market is expected to reach a value of over $10bn.

Attending this international conference, you will enjoy an immersive journey into the latest technologies in metamaterials and their alignment to commercial opportunities. There will also be exciting networking opportunities with high-profile speakers and delegates that will offer a unique opportunity to develop innovative ideas, create valuable collaborations, and extend the commercial use of these technologies in a large range of industries.

Who should attend this event?

We strongly encourage materials innovators and designers with a need for disruptive technology that current materials are unable to deliver to attend as well as those with a desire to understand what the latest metamaterials functionality could potentially deliver for their industry.

This event will take place over three live streams covering nine competitive sectors that hold the highest potential for metamaterials to add value in innovation and business opportunities:

• 09:00 – Conference platform opens for delegates to explore virtual exhibition booths
• 09:30 – Plenary session
  • • • Chaired by Dr Kirsty Hewitson, Director, KTN
      • Sir John Pendry – Metamaterials: past, present and future
      • Professor David Smith – Commercialising metamaterial technologies
      • Irina Khromova – SME challenges
      • Casey Tegreene – Funding the challenging technologies
• 10:30:

Stream 1: Aerospace and Aviation
In this session, we will explore the metamaterials technologies currently employed in the sector as well as those close to commercial applications. These technologies will include communications and lightweighting as well as acoustic sensors and photonic technologies applicable to visual displays and AR.

Stream 2: Acoustic and Thermal
These two related capabilities are relevant to several industries including the built environment, rail, and marine where the need to control sound waves is coupled with a desire to maintain airflow to heat or cool the environment. We will explore the challenges as well as the potential technologies on offer from specialist acoustics companies.

Stream 3: Healthcare
This session is focused on two different aspects of metamaterials and healthcare, wearable and portable technologies like non-invasive glucose testing and radio wave imaging to metamaterials for enhancing imaging in appliances like MRI. Other metamaterials technologies might include augmented reality and metasurface technology for charging electronic devices.

• 12:30:

Stream 1: Creative Industries
In this session, we will be looking at the role that design plays in visualising and developing prototypes and demonstrators that can offer a simple message as to what metamaterials do.

Stream 2: Built Environment & Construction
Metamaterials can offer much to help this sector address its challenges on pollution in the form of noise as well as the home and other important spaces like hospitals. In using metamaterials, we can control airflow as well as temperature in the hardware of buildings as well as the softer structures like curtains and blinds.

Stream 3: Transport & Automotive
The role of metamaterials in the automotive sector is related to the use of LIDAR for autonomous vehicles and we will explore how this technology can deliver safer driving coupled with the application of photonics in active visual displays. We will be drawing on the experience of the industry in evaluating their value.

Looking more generally at the transport industry, we will look to the current metamaterials technologies that will offer safer and more comfortable travel whether it be related to noise or information and control. We plan to offer an industry insight into those technologies that are relevant and have been or are being tested.

• 14:30:

Stream 1: Consumer Electronics and Photonics
As with comms, our everyday life is dominated by portable electronics, and areas like faster and better charging are just as key here as for electric cars. In addition, improved and smaller displays will continue to drive innovation and open the door to materials technologies like metamaterials.

Stream 2: Comms and Antennas
Communications is a key part of modern life, and the production of antennas already uses metamaterials in innovation. Whether it’s the use in 5G comms or antennas on aircraft metamaterials can help to broaden the wavelength response and deliver smaller and active antennas.

Stream 3: Energy Generation, Transmission & Storage
As we move our energy to more sustainable sources like wind, solar, and hydrogen, we need to address the challenges that bring in terms of efficiency. Metamaterials can deliver more efficiency in batteries through electrode design, more efficient solar cells that can choose and focus wavelengths depending on conditions to wind turbines that are invisible to radar.

• 16:30 – Panel discussion: Where will metamaterials find the greatest commercial impact?
• 18:00 – Closing Remarks

Each plenary sector presentation will end with a dedicated Q&A session.

Attendees will also have plenty of opportunity to network with the partners, exhibitors and other attendees in between sessions.