Life-cycle dynamics, commercialization

The number of such examples, however, is not high. In many other examples of advanced-performance materials, such as DuPont s Kevlar and Allied Signal s SPECTRA, the volume applications associated with system-for-system substitution has not yet occurred at a level necessary to pay back the development and commercialization costs already expended. High-performance ceramics is another area in which the early promise has yet to materialize. The consequences of Eckstut s life-cycle dynamics have been overcapacity and severe rationalization in high-performance carbon fiber businesses, some specialty alloy activities, and high-performance polymer composites. Thus, with critical technologies that involve advanced-performance materials, we need to better understand how to exploit their value in a commercially viable way. 

---