Safe and healthy life conditions are among the most important necessities of a knowledge-based society.  Such necessities require more and more progress in the filed of high technology applications and advanced material science.  Activities in materials research and development in the next years have to focus on protecting the environment, for instance by reducing emissions in energy production and transport.  This in turn requires higher thermal efficiency and less fuel consumption of advanced gas turbines that can only be attained through the implementation of advanced ceramics and/or coatings desired for extreme operating conditions.  Lifetime assessment of components working at high temperatures is also necessary.  There is an increasing need for virtual predictions of the phenomena under dangerous conditions in order to prevent in-service failures e.g. the numerical modelling of collision of cars, bird impacts of airplanes etc. For this purpose the behaviour of intermetallic and multicomponent materials involved in such situations should be known.  This requires an understanding of the role played by each component from microscopic to macroscopic level.

The knowledge-based multicomponent materials are the area where integrated RTD efforts may win a strong competitive position for the European industry.  Also the extended durability of novel material in various applications has a strong economical aspect.  Wide activities of the KMM-NoE will assure that materials of tomorrow will reach the end users more rapidly.  Applications of such modern materials bring also a direct impact on safety and higher performance of structures answering vital questions of European society concerning their own and environmental safety.