The META-SMA project has been awarded funding by NWO within the KIC Mission Call High performance materials for Defense and Safety. The project is one of ten newly funded research initiatives that will explore advanced materials for future defence and security applications, in close collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

META-SMA, short for Advanced Metamaterials with Enhanced Shock Absorption through Shape Memory Alloys and Additive Manufacturing, focuses on a challenge that is becoming increasingly important in both defence and high-tech civilian applications: how to protect people, equipment and critical systems from shocks and vibrations while keeping components lightweight, reusable and resource-efficient.

The project is led by Dr Corentin Coulais, Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam. Academic co-applicants include Prof. Dr Francesco Maresca at the University of Groningen; Prof. Dr Vera Popovich, Prof. Dr Matthijs Langelaar and Dr Jovana Jovanova at Delft University of Technology. The broader consortium brings together a wide range of industrial and societal partners, including the Ministry of Defence, ANiMa, Beamler, DevelopMinded, F3nice, Gibas, GKN Fokker Aerospace, Huisman, NLR, VDL ETG, Dutch Drone Company, Drone Netwerk Gemeenten, TNO, VDL Defentec, Deep Tech Defence Alliance, DeltaQuad, ASML, High Tech NL and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Current shock-absorbing materials often rely on irreversible deformation. They may perform well once, but after a strong impact they can lose functionality or need to be replaced. META-SMA takes a different route. The project will combine mechanical metamaterials with shape memory alloys, specifically NiTi-based materials, and advanced manufacturing techniques such as laser powder bed fusion. These materials can deform under mechanical loading and then return to their original shape, opening the way to protective components that can absorb energy repeatedly without permanent damage.

The project will develop new scientific understanding, computational design methods and manufacturing  routes for this next generation of energy-absorbing materials. The consortium will work towards two application-driven demonstrators: a reversible shock mount and an anti-vibration mount. These demonstrators will be validated under relevant dynamic loading conditions and are intended to show how the technology could be used in both defence and civil sectors, including aerospace, drones, heavy lifting equipment and high-precision systems.

M2i will support the project through project coordination, stakeholder engagement, consortium management and dissemination. In this role, M2i will help connect the scientific work with industrial and societal needs, ensuring that the knowledge developed in META-SMA can move beyond the laboratory and contribute to future applications.

The project aligns strongly with M2i’s mission to accelerate materials innovation through collaboration between academia, industry and public partners. By bringing together fundamental materials research, advanced production technologies and end-user perspectives, META-SMA aims to contribute to safer, more sustainable and more resilient systems for defence and civil applications.

Read the full NWO announcement here: Ten research projects to launch studies into new materials for the Ministry of Defence

Written by Viktoria Savran