The Growing Landscape of Metal-Organic Frameworks Explored by IDTechEx

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous materials made of a network of metal ions coordinated to organic ligands, and are seeing uptake within carbon capture, water harvesting, and chemical separation processes. IDTechEx's report, "Metal-Organic Frameworks 2025-2035: Markets, Technologies, and Forecasts", explores these main applications alongside several other early-stage applications, manufacturing methods and forecasts over the next decade.

 

Their structures are highly periodic with very high surface area, while also being tunable and versatile. Over 100,000 structures of MOFs have been reported to date, each with unique characteristics. The individual traits achievable with MOFs is one of the reasons for their widespread interest amongst many applications, with their demand expected to increase nearly 50-fold by 2030. Despite slow traction over the past 10 years, recent market activity has been taking place in three main areas - carbon capture, water harvesting, and chemical separation processes.

 

 

Carbon capture presents opportunities for MOFs in both point source and direct air capture which are necessary for meeting net zero goals. Point source capture technologies capture CO₂ at the source of emissions, while direct air capture removes CO₂ directly from the atmosphere. MOF-based point source capture is being developed by several companies including Svante and Nuada. Direct air capture is at an earlier stage, but some startups include SyncMOF and AspiraDAC, with a more extensive list and appraisal of technologies included in the report. IDTechEx's "Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Markets 2025-2045: Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players" report also explores these processes in depth.

 

Air filtration, refrigerant reclamation, direct lithium extraction, gas separation, and chemical feedstock purification are all examples of applications for MOFs within the chemical separation and purification sector. MOF-based filtration materials within this sector can filter and detoxify acid gases, chemical agents, and nerve agents, with the progress being made varying by specific application. For water harvesting, MOFs can be used to extract drinking water from the atmosphere, which is relevant in regions where clean water is limited. One of the main drivers for the use of MOFs within these sectors is the significant decrease in costs when compared to current systems.

 

 

Compared to other sorbents such as zeolites, silica gel, and activated carbon, MOFs show better performance amongst categories, including pore size distribution, working capacity, cycle stability, selectivity, structural tunability, and the energy required for regeneration.

 

Scaling production for MOF applications depends largely on the availability, quality, and affordability of MOFs. The development of MOFs within research labs is done so on a milligram scale, as the processes require large volumes of solvents, and incur slow reaction times and high costs. Historically, high production costs and pricing of MOFs has held back commercial success. IDTechEx states that new scalable production methods are currently being developed, alongside efforts to transfer lab-based synthesis to already existing production methods to reduce costs.

 

Solvothermal, mechanochemical synthesis, electrochemical synthesis, sonochemical synthesis, and batch synthesis are all examples of MOFs manufacturing methods, with several players currently pivoting towards batch synthesis processes. Downstream processes include filtration, activation, and shaping of MOFs are needed to obtain functional MOFs for industrial applications.

 

Wider applications for MOFs outlined in IDTechEx's report include gas storage, sensors, catalysts, energy storage, agriculture, biomedical applications, thermal management, and PEM FC membranes. For more information, visit IDTechEx's report, "Metal-Organic Frameworks 2025-2035: Markets, Technologies, and Forecasts", and the wider portfolio of Advanced Materials & Critical Minerals Research Reports and Subscriptions.