Do you want to understand and help develop the materials that surround us? Materials are important - they are part of most constructions and products and help save lives, create jobs and save the environment. Why are materials so important? Materials provide everything from the shoes we wear to the house we live in to the energy we use for keeping warm.

What is Materials Technology?

Materials technology is multidisciplinary and covers everything from the production of aluminum, steel and silicon - to the development of new materials. The materials have wide application, and they can be used in petroleum activities, energy technology or for more everyday products such as knives. Material technology is therefore an important focus area for Norwegian industry. The right choice of materials can save companies a lot of money and work!

Today, materials technologists face exciting challenges such as environmentally friendly metal production and recycling, advanced material use in the oil and gas operations in the North Sea and the North, as well as the development of new materials based on nanotechnology for environmentally friendly and efficient utilization of our national energy resources.

Why study Materials Technology?

Materials technology is the study for those who are curious about why different materials are used for different purposes, how they are made and assembled and how they can be developed and improved. The study provides expertise in areas that are important to Norway as an industrial nation, both today and in the future. As a material technology student, you will benefit from this expertise and receive an education that is both relevant and career-enhancing in a later job situation.

There are many different companies that need people with expertise in materials technology, and you as a material technologist will have many opportunities after graduation.

At the same time this study program has small classes with approx. 20 students, which makes it easy to get acquainted with their fellow students. The sense of class, the unity and the personal contact with the faculty teachers at the department make the material technology study completely unique, and distinguishes the study from other university studies. Therefore, you should choose to study materials technology at NTNU!

Tailor your expertise

To tailor you expertise you can choose between the following three specialisations which you apply directly to, i.e.:

• Specialization 1: Resources, Energy and Environment
• Specialization 2: Material Development and Use
• Specialization 3: Materials for Energy Technology

Metal Development - Challenges and opportunities

Did you know that metals can be produced in different ways - from natural raw materials or by recycling scrap metal? Aluminum and steel are examples of materials that are increasingly being recycled and therefore offer many new and exciting challenges for you as a materials technologist. Solar cell silicon is an important material that is produced today by recycling expensive silicon from the electronics industry. The Norwegian silicon industry is now investing heavily in mass production of this material through direct reduction of SiO2 (quartz) to Si using carbon. Future material technologists will have the opportunity to develop this important industry in Norway.  

Boats, cars, aircraft, oil platforms and skyscrapers - expertise in materials technology is important!

Have you considered what materials a car, boat, aircraft or offshore installation is made of? Why exactly are the materials chosen? What material properties are important? What really determines the material properties? To understand this, basic knowledge of how the nanomaterials and microstructure of the materials influence the application properties is required. As a tool for structural characterization, advanced electron microscopes with a resolution down to the atomic level are used. Join and make the cars of the future in aluminum or lay the foundations for safe and environmentally friendly utilization of oil and gas resources in the North Sea and the North.

Energy technology - materials technology and nanotechnology

Have you ever thought about the fact that increased use of hydrogen as an energy carrier requires a quantum leap in the development of so-called functional materials? These are smart materials found in solar cells, superconductors, computers, batteries, fuel cells and catalysts, and which have a physical property that can be utilized. Environmentally, hydrogen is an attractive energy carrier. As a result, eleven of the largest automakers in the world have developed fuel cell-based cars based on hydrogen.

With a basis in nanotechnology, you can develop cheaper and more robust materials for use in, among other things, fuel cells, solar cells, CO2 purification and salt power - thus helping to make this technology more competitive in the future.