What is the World Materials Forum?
Where Strategic Dialogue Meets Action
The World Materials Forum (WMF) is a high-level, international platform bringing together senior leaders from major industrial groups, alongside leading scientists, policymakers, and representatives of civil society.
The Forum was created to address, at the highest strategic level, the key materials challenges shaping industrial competitiveness and sustainability, from upstream resources to downstream applications.
Its ambition is twofold:
• Enable strategic dialogue on materials availability, transformation, circularity, and technological transitions.
• Foster collective reflection and action, by connecting industrial realities, scientific advances, and public policy perspectives. Unlike traditional conferences, the WMF isdesigned as a forum for open, trust-based discussions, encouraging cross-sector exchanges and long-term vision. It provides a unique environment where leaders can share perspectives, anticipate disruptions, and collectively explore pathways toward more resilient and sustainable materials valuechains.
The WMF offers a space to:
• Explore long-term materials strategies
• Share experiences and lessons learned across sectors
• Identify emerging technologicaland industrial trends
• Strengthen dialogue between industry, science, and policy
A proven track record
A Decade of Strategic Dialogue and Continuity
Founded in 2014 by Philippe Varin and Victoire de Margerie, the World Materials Forum has progressively established itself as a reference international meeting point for decision-makers involved in materials intensive industries. Initially hosted in Nancy (France), the Forum has expanded its scope and international visibility.
Each edition is structured around a central strategic theme reflecting major industrial, technological, and societal challenges:
2024 – Risky DeepTech and Social Acceptability: The Winning Pair
2023 – Efficiency and Responsibility: How to Manage the Transition
2022 – Huge Challenges Ahead: Act Out of the Box
2021 – Green Technologies and Materials: The Convergence
2020 – From Breakthrough Innovation to Industry: Sound and Fast
2019 – The Future of Materials: Let’s Make It Happen!
2018 – Use Smarter, Less & Longer
2017 – Materials Efficiency for Better Growth
2016 – Driving the Shift to Optimal Efficiency
2015 – Materials Availability and Life Cycle Management for Sustainable Competitiveness
Over time, this continuity has fostered a trusted community of leaders, enabling frank exchanges, shared understanding, and long-term strategic alignment.
A Unique Ecosystem
An International Network at the Interface of Industry, Innovation, and Policy
The World Materials Forum brings together a diverse and carefully curated ecosystem, connecting key stakeholders across the materials value chain.
Past and current participants and partners include major international industrial groups, innovative start-ups and scale-ups, research institutions, consultancies, and public organizations, such as:
Arkema, Forvia, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Eramet, BASF, Ivanhoe Mining, CITEO, Hexcel, TotalEnergies, Umicore, VICAT, Boliden, TechMet, ProLogium, Boston Metal, 5N Plus, BRGM, McKinsey & Company, Arthur D. Little, Danone, Région Grand Est, Métropole du Grand Nancy, Université de Lorraine, Momentum Technologies, among others.
Beyond institutional representation, the WMF brings together:
• Senior executives from global industrial groups
• Leaders of emerging and disruptive technology companies
• Academic and scientific experts shaping future materials
• Policymakers and institutional stakeholders involved in regulatory and strategic frameworks
The Forum is intentionally limited in size to preserve the quality of interactions and encourage meaningful, high-level dialogue.
