Ceramics, Capability and Consequence
Ceramics, Capability and Consequence - The UK’s CMC supply chain is taking shape. By Dr David King, Principal Engineer - Defence, NCC
Until recently Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) were still mostly a conversation in UK industry - an ambition shared by technical teams and within conference rooms.
End users have been calling for materials that could handle higher temperatures, harsher forces and longer lifespans. But on the ground, the UK had little in place to make it happen. That’s no longer the case.
At the 2025 UK CMC Forum, we saw what changed. SMEs showing prototypes. Processers sharing real routes to manufacture. Open discussions on challenges - fibre selection, extreme testing, supply chains - and equally open signs of progress.
From fusion to fast jets, the demand for thermally resilient materials is becoming clearer. And the community working to deliver them is no longer hypothetical. It’s visible, active, and growing. This matters for more than technical reasons.
If the UK wants to field next-generation propulsion systems, defend against new threats, or generate energy under extreme conditions - we’ll need more than design talent. We’ll need the materials to withstand it. And that means building sovereign capability - not just R&D expertise, but end-to-end supply chains with the skills, tooling and confidence to deliver.
This year’s forum brought together over 70 delegates from across the UK and Europe - engineers, academics and strategists. The conversations focused on solving challenges to accelerate the adoption of these high performance materials.
What comes next is shaping the infrastructure and supply chains to support what’s already begun - scale-up support, clear investment signals, and joined-up thinking between industry and government. The capability is starting to appear. The question now is how fast we can build on it.
If your organisation is working with high-temperature materials, developing new processing routes, or facing design challenges that metals can’t meet, this is a space worth connecting with.
Get in touch. Join the network. Help shape what comes next.