Innovations to decarbonize materials industries

Materials science has had a key role in lowering CO2 emissions from the electricity sector through the development of technologies for renewable energy generation and high-performance energy storage. However, outside of the energy sector, there remain considerable greenhouse gas emissions linked to materials production, particularly due to growth in the built environment infrastructure, transportation and chemicals manufacture. This Review focuses on the challenge of reducing the emissions impact of materials production. We assess the potential for decarbonization in the cement, metals (including steel and aluminium) and chemicals manufacturing industries, including the potential to reduce emissions from the inputs to the production and the transformation processes, as well as through the design of desired outputs. We also address underexplored research areas and outline opportunities for the materials community to reduce emissions by leveraging innovations along length scales from atoms to materials markets. The materials community must address the greenhouse gas emissions burden of materials production. This Review assesses the potential for decarbonization of the cement, metals and petrochemical industries, revealing opportunities to strengthen the connections across industries and length scales — from the atomic scale through to materials markets — to meet climate targets.