Material Science Employment Snapshot 2025

In 2025, similar to previous years, there will be a huge push within the Material space to work towards decarbonising the textile, packaging and construction space, as well as other areas. The focus will be on finding sustainable alternatives which will be driven by innovative start-ups utilising novel ways to create these.

The Textile Industry: 

The textile industry must undergo significant transformation in production, usage, and disposal to meet climate targets, as it accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, uses 93 billion cubic meters of water annually, and sends £140m worth of clothing to landfill each year in the UK. The goal is to deliver circular and sustainable textiles to meet the Textiles 2030 Textiles Action Plan. This will need to target changes in the dying industry and encourage the shift away from synthetic fibres.

The dyeing industry is one of the largest water consumers in the world using 1.3 trillion gallons of water every year but also is the largest polluter of rivers and streams by emitting harmful chemicals and dyes. A huge push to change this industry is demonstrated by companies such as Colorifix, who have developed a biological process which replaces the use of harmful chemicals to dye textiles.

The industry is also prioritising the sourcing of sustainable fibres and yarns. Natural fibres such as cotton and wool are considered much more sustainable than synthetic fibres as they are biodegradable, renewable and use less energy to produce than Synthetic fibres such as polyester. However, currently, synthetic fibres dominate the fibre market making up 67% of production in 2023. There needs to be a push from the industry to move away from using synthetic fibres, for example, the start-up Fibe focuses on waste-derived fibres creating new textiles from potato harvest waste.

On the other hand, other start-ups are shifting away from the use of animal materials such as plant-based leather produced by Arda Biomaterials and ReallyClever, or plant-based fur produced by BioFluff.

The Built Environment: 

The buildings and construction sector account for 37% of global emissions with the production of materials such as cement, steel and aluminium having a significant carbon footprint. There is a huge push towards decarbonising the building material space in order to reach the goal for net zero emissions by 2060.

The aim is to increase the use of regenerative, circular biomaterials to be used as an alternative to traditional building materials by creating low-carbon cement and sustainable alternatives to classic insulation materials. This could be in the form of timber and wood, bamboo, using biomass or living materials. Start-ups like BIOHM, BioZeroc, Concrete4Change and many others are helping this transition.

The Packaging Industry: 

The packaging and plastic industry accounts for over 2% of global significant greenhouse gas emissions per year, primarily from fossil fuel-based raw materials, energy-intensive production, and end-of-life waste management. Achieving net zero by 2030 will require a shift to renewable materials, the adoption of clean energy, and circular economy models.

Start-ups like Notpla exemplify this transformation by developing seaweed-based biodegradable packaging, which eliminates reliance on petroleum plastics and reduces emissions from production and disposal. Other innovations include reusable packaging systems, advanced recycling technologies, and plant-based alternatives.

Other growth areas:

The other areas of growth will be within energy storage materials developing solid-state or bio-based battery materials for renewable energy storage, as well as Quantum materials helping advance quantum computing devices, ultra-sensitive sensors, and novel communication technologies.

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If you are looking to expand your team in 2025, get in touch with Zoe for a chat.