Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Dive
Unpacking trends and innovation in industry
In this last few posts, I tried to conceptualize the breadth and size of the Defense tech venture market. But what I didn’t unpack was some definitional understandings of the component spaces that comprise the defense tech market. Each of these categories merit far more than one post highlighting the surface level definitions and trends. In fact, the experts in each of these spaces can pull together compendiums of insights and developments. But at a surface level, what I’m hoping to elucidate with these posts is how these areas interact with each other and from a 30,000ft level what their relevance is to defense innovation.
So call them executive summaries or shallow dives, but in this post, we’ll start by unpacking Advanced Materials & Manufacturing by answering two key questions:
What do we mean when we talk about advanced materials and manufacturing?
What are some emergent areas and trends that will shape opportunities here?
Materials
Broadly, this category can most easily be split into its eponymous halves: materials and manufacturing. On the material side, the emphasis here is placed on the science, technology, and engineering behind substances that will equip the missions of the future. And as missions, systems, and platforms become more complex, the materials that are required to serve these areas will become more complex as well. Examples of innovation and advancement in this space can be placed in context of other technology areas, as innovation in material science will support development of hardware that enables growth in the other areas:
Advancement in metallurgy and alloys will enable us to develop higher strength and resilient infrastructure for hypersonic flight and for space travel. Here, the materials required for more regular space flight or hypersonic missions necessitate the creation of stronger and more reliable alloys. Innovation in the form of stronger composites, powder metallurgy, ultra-high temperature sintering, thermal coatings, etc. will help build the hardware of the future.
Advanced mining capabilities and deployment of alternate minerals for cathodes will help power a transition to a more electrified future. Demand for batteries is a critical issue of not only energy security but also national security. More than 50-60% of Lithium and Cobalt in particular—while extracted in Australia, the DRC, or other countries—is refined and manufactured in China. Discovery of alternative battery metals—such as Sulfur, Sodium, or Manganese Nickel Oxide (LMNO)—can support the market to meet growing demand for batteries and establish a greener future.
Competition and innovation in the mineral space also extends to areas like magnetics, where alternatives to rare earth metals may enable a more secure supply chain. Like battery minerals, rare earths face the same global supply chain and adversarial pressure. The applications of these magnets spans from consumer electronics to industrial machinery and aerospace components, making securing the supply chain a paramount responsibility.
Innovation in materials sciences on semiconductors will help us harness the full power of silicon or even push past the physical limitations of the material to develop better microelectronics. The fallout from the CHIPS Act here will have a big impetus on materials that are used for semiconductor manufacturing. Initiatives are already underway by semiconductor manufacturers to study graphene as a potential alternative to silicon and R&D funding from the CHIPS act could help the US innovate as we begin to reshore semiconductor production. While bets like graphene chips are far off, innovation in this space may be necessary to combat diminished returns on Moore’s Law.
Manufacturing
On the manufacturing side, the space deals largely with techniques, processes, systems, and tools that enable more effective and reliable engineering of critical systems. This includes innovation such as knowledge-based engineering processes, additive manufacturing techniques, innovation in precision manufacturing and other smart manufacturing methods. Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE), the umbrella term here, encompasses any process by which the human-knowledge of engineering is embedded within a system to enable a repeatable and consistent process. Several innovations in this space can drive better engineering and manufacturing to support the surge in demand for re-shored and near-shored advanced capabilities:
Precision manufacturing techniques used in aerospace and hardware manufacturing to reduce error and increase fault tolerance. Hadrian, well on its way to a unicorn valuation with a $90M seed round in 2022, highlighted the opportunity for disruption in this space. Tribal knowledge in mom-and-pop precision manufacturing shops enables Hadrian to focus on reinventing the advanced manufacturing space by focusing on smarter human-machine teaming and sustaining a human capital advantage through upskilling. Disruptive potential still remains in this space though, with additive manufacturing techniques enabling maintenance of systems to occur in theatre and compounding the effects of an automated precision manufacturing system.
Additive manufacturing has long been an area of interest for the defense sector but it wasn’t until 2021 that the DoD released an additive manufacturing strategy which emphasizes public-private partnerships for AM and highlights the need to cultivate AM use in the defense industrial base. A remaining challenge in this space is ensuring consistency and quality of AM products which requires not only implementation of advanced manufacturing systems but human-focused retraining and upskilling to enable operators to effectively command advanced systems.
Digital twin and advanced simulation techniques are another example of a disruptive technology in the manufacturing space that can increase efficiency and reduce error. Digital twins will enable a slew of technical industries to reduce errors in manufacturing by creating replicable digital environments where R&D, simulation, and other testing can support the creation of better products. Recently emerging from stealth, Istari is seeking to build the “engineering metaverse” with a keen eye toward aerospace & defense applications. The establishment of these digital systems can drive innovation in integrated circuit design, aerospace manufacturing, and other technically challenging build with diminished cost and waste.
There’s still much to unpack about innovation in the advanced manufacturing and materials space but the demand signal is clear. Increased emphasis on domestic manufacturing and increased complexity in the mission requirements—across commercial and defense applications—will lead to demand for higher quality, reliability, and efficiency in manufacturing. None of this is new: We are in the middle of Industry 4.0 and rapid digitalization of the manufacturing industry. And though this transformation to a digital manufacturing economy is still in flight, the breakneck speed of transformation means that the next industrial transformation is already on the horizon.
Industry 4.0 will quickly be superseded by 5.0, 6.0, etc. etc. Here, the innovations of the digital manufacturing economy and advanced materials and systems will interact with human systems to form yet another layer of complexity. Integrating the inherently human processes of engineering systems is a frontier of knowledge-based engineering and leaders in the space will have to formulate answers as we identify the questions. Personally, I’m excited to witness the transformation in this space as innovation in material science and manufacturing will quite literally form the backbone of everything else we touch and use. But again for now, let me know: what am I missing? What can be better?