IDTechEx highlights the strategic role of advanced coatings alongside rare earth magnets and aerogels in global industries.
Rare earth magnets, advanced coatings and aerogels are among the technologies analysed within IDTechEx’s portfolio of Advanced Materials & Critical Minerals Research Reports. Interest in these materials continues to grow, with their individual advantages enabling new developments across a wide range of industries, including thermal management, electric vehicles, robotics and energy storage.
Advanced coatings
Sustainability and efficiency requirements are becoming increasingly stringent, driving demand for materials such as advanced coatings across industries including EV batteries, aerospace, data centres and energy. IDTechEx describes these materials as a ‘critical enabler of reliability and performance,’ as they can deliver significant benefits to manufacturing processes, including extending product lifetimes and enabling higher performance. IDTechEx’s report, “Advanced Coatings 2026-2036: Market, Technologies, Players”, highlights the growing economic importance of advanced coatings in a landscape shaped by accelerating global electrification.
The report covers a wide range of advanced coating types, including fire protection, EMI shielding, anti-corrosion, thermally conductive and self-healing coatings, with properties examined in relation to their target applications. In aerospace, for example, coatings must be lightweight while also offering resistance to UV exposure, abrasion and extreme temperatures.
The global need for rare earths
Rare earth magnets are a type of permanent metal magnet and represent the strongest commercially available magnetic products on the market in 2025. Owing to their high magnetic strength and resistance to demagnetisation, they are widely used in high-performance applications such as electric motors, actuators and acoustics. Although rare earth magnets are more expensive and have lower operating temperature limits than alternative samarium–cobalt, ferrite and Alnico magnets, they remain best-in-class for high-performance applications.
Despite their name, rare earth magnets are used across numerous technology sectors, including electric vehicles, consumer electronics, data centres, aerospace and energy. Wind turbine generators and electric motors in EVs are among the most prominent applications today, alongside motors for industrial and automotive uses, underlining the breadth of markets reliant on rare earth magnets.
Rare earth magnets derive their status as critical materials from their increasing economic importance in decarbonised energy and transport markets, coupled with rising supply risks linked to strategic materials for defence and national security. IDTechEx’s latest research report, “Rare Earth Magnets 2026-2036: Technologies, Supply, Markets, Forecasts,” assesses emerging rare earth supply chains, material trends, global magnet demand, developing recycling technologies, and includes 10-year supply and demand forecasts.
IDTechEx’s “Critical Material Recovery 2026-2046: Technologies, Markets, Players” research report concludes that by 2046 more than 8.1 million tonnes of critical materials are expected to be recovered from waste and secondary raw materials, representing a recoverable value of over US$66B.
Aerogels
Aerogels are emerging as a promising material for electric vehicle thermal management and fire protection applications, offering low thermal conductivity, low density and inherent fire retardancy. Their properties can be tailored for ultra-lightweight uses, such as in aerospace and aircraft, and they are therefore included within IDTechEx’s portfolio of Advanced Materials & Critical Minerals Research Reports.
Aerogels are highly porous, ultra-lightweight solid materials composed of interconnected nanostructures and are described in IDTechEx’s report, “Aerogels 2025-2035: Technology, Market, Forecasts,” as being similar to a gel without the liquid component. The main types currently available on the market are silica and silica composites, although other variants, including polymer aerogels, are under development. IDTechEx forecasts the aerogels market to grow at a CAGR of 12.2% and reach US$3.29bn by 2035. This growth reflects strong prospects for aerogels as a preferred solution for thermal management and fire protection in electric vehicles, industrial environments, and oil & gas and energy applications. The report also identifies key market players, examines technology and market trends, and benchmarks different aerogel types against their most suitable applications.