Impact case study database

The pioneering work of John Pendry led to a new field of research and applications in metamaterials. He is widely credited as one of the inventors whose key concepts now allow their commercial use today [A, B] in highly disruptive technologies for a plethora of applications where control over electromagnetic radiation is key, including telecommunications, solar energy harvesting, biological imaging and sensing, medical diagnostics and many others. With David Smith, his collaborator who is developing an engineering platform based on the metamaterial concept, John Pendry’s research has been the major driving force behind the impact of these new concepts. Today most major technology companies have some internal ongoing metamaterials research, one such example is Netgear. They have used metamaterials in all consumer wireless routers since 2008 [C]. In addition, several of the many start-up companies devoted to metamaterials are already shipping products as outlined below.

Intellectual Ventures, a private equity company that centres on the development and licensing of intellectual property has set up 7 companies based on the fundamental research of Pendry and collaborators at Duke University, with 3 more who have developed products based on metamaterials and are approaching the external funding phase [D]. The first and largest of these companies Kymeta Corporation (Redmond, WA, USA), which specializes in satellite communications was formed in August 2012 and launched its first commercially available product in March 2017 [D, E, F]. Since August 2013, the following 6 companies have been also been formed by Intellectual Ventures; Evolv Technology (Waltham, MA, USA), with a focus on security screening applications; Echodyne (Redmond, WA, USA), a company commercializing metamaterial-based radar systems; Pivotal Commware (Kirkland, WA, USA), which develops metamaterial-based products for terrestrial communications; Carillon Technologies (Arlington, VA, USA), a start-up dedicated to military applications; Lumotive (Bellevue, WA, USA), a start-up dedicated to metamaterial-based LiDAR systems; and Metacept, a start-up designing and building complete electromagnetic systems. These seven start-ups target major industries where metamaterials have a highly likelihood of disruption [D] and have already attracted ~$534M of investment by the end of 2020 [D, E]. In doing so, they have helped create an entirely new market, the global metamaterial market, which is valued in the billions of dollars [D].

Kymeta – Using metamaterials for always-on satellite connectivity

The most prominent of these companies is, Kymeta, a mature start up founded by Nathan Kundz, a metamaterial co-author with Pendry and Smith. Kymeta’s technology directly derive from fundamental research undertaken by Pendry and his close collaborations with Smith and Kundz at Duke University. Following Intellectual Ventures incubation of the research, Kymeta was spun out in August 2012 and by the end 2020 had attracted over $330M of investment and is valued at between $500M-$1B [E]. Kymeta state that the research performed by Sir John Pendry was key to the technology and products they are currently selling and developing. A Kymeta series of blogs published in June 2017 states [F]: " The cloak decisively demonstrated the power of transformation optics that Dr. Pendry had conceptualized, expanding the set of tools available for optical and electromagnetic design. Transformation optics and related techniques would later become part of the underlying tool set for Kymeta’s technology."

In January 2016 Toyota announced a partnership with Kymeta with an investment of $10M [G], with the plan to integrate Kymeta’s flat antenna technology into their future vehicles to allow for stable high bandwidth satellite communications on-board their vehicles, enabling autonomous vehicles. In March 2017, Kymeta launched the first commercially available, flat, electronic steering, metamaterials-based satellite antenna, the Kymeta mTennau7 which at wholesale costs $25,000 per terminal [A]. Using the properties of metamaterials, this flat antenna removes the requirement of a moving dish to maintain always on satellite communications - opening new possibilities for high-speed satellite data communications.

In October – December 2017 following the destruction of the Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico was left without communications. Kymeta provided antennas to partners on the ground who visited 33 communities enabling 22,266 internet sessions that generated 813.44 GB of data usage and allowed residents to use temporary ATMs, file 2,504 Federal Emergency Management Agency applications and contact family and friends [H]. This rapid response was made possible by metamaterial-based technology. Furthermore, the technology enables emergency services to maintain communications during disaster response, especially in remote locations, continuous connectivity to marine and land vehicles [H]. At present Kymeta lists over 100 partners in 40 counties [I] with companies covering government, defence, media, maritime, mining, oil, and vehicle-based solutions.

Metamaterials in autonomous cars, 5G, and wireless charging

A key application area for metamaterials is in the autonomous driving marketplace, where significant investment has taken place from many of the major car manufacturers. Toyota and Hyundai have invested $10M in Metawave [J], founded in 2017 ( https://www.metawave.co/). The Metawave automotive radar system steers a highly-directive RF beam that can accurately determine the location and speed of all road objects - in all-weather conditions and cluttered environments.

Metawave also exploit metamaterial technology in 5G networks (which will be up to 1000 times the speed of 4G) utilizing a smart beam-forming approach that directs energy toward a specific user’s device to provide the bandwidth needed to support the desired online experience and minimize source power requirements.

In the UK, Metaboards ( https://www.metaboards.com/), founded in 2016 has recently secured $5M in funding to support the development of their metamaterials-based technology [K] to transmit and control magneto inductive waves. This is vital technology in the ability to remotely power electronic devices across large surfaces without the need for alignment and should have enormous implications in charging of consumer electronics.

Manipulating visible radiation using metamaterials

Metamaterial Technologies Inc. (http://www.metamaterial.com/\), one of the earliest metamaterials companies founded in 2013, has developed eyewear protection for pilots (metaAIR Aviation Eyewear, commercially available since 2019) to eliminate the ever increasing problem of laser light strikes on aircraft. Variations of this product will also have relevance to the defence marketplace. By using metamaterial technology to trap sunlight from coming from all angles, Metamaterial Technologies Inc have also manufactured thin solar films that have the ability to increase the efficiency of solar cells.

Influence on policy and investment surrounding metamaterials

Through the research led by Pendry, the emergence of metamaterials and their properties regarding electromagnetic radiation has led the field to attract interest from national governments and defence programmes. An example of this is with the direction and policy decisions taken by Dstl and the MoD. A Dstl Senior Fellow, states that due to the interest in metamaterials he was asked to form the Emerging Technology Programme, now the Futures Programme [L]. Furthermore, they write “ This programme now deploys more than £15M per annum to horizon scan and explore unfamiliar, uncertain game-changing science and technology to mitigate the risk of technological surprise; and this is now influencing right to the top of UK government to inform policy, strategy and legislation relating to the importance of emerging technology, including metamaterials. More specifically in relation to metamaterials, the MODs core research portfolio is comprised of 25 programmes, today some 8 of these programmes are funding research in metamaterials and relying on talent skilled in metamaterials both internally and in the supply chain; this highlights the diversity of technological and application relevance.”

More widely John Pendry’s research has led metamaterials being a focus for UK industry. The head of Materials for the Knowledge Transfer Network writes “ The area [metamaterials] *was featured strongly in this year’s Materials Research Exchange Showcase (MRE 2020) to get potential investors engaged and has led to the recent launch of the Metamaterials Innovation Network to work with the investment community and industry to exploit the opportunities offered by the extensive academic research.*” [M]

Such engagement with industry and policy makers has ensured that Metamaterials are recognised by the UK government as one of the key branches of advanced materials that would help to grow UK’s wealth and well-being [M].