I often Google materials science, to stay up to date with current research findings and promises of future innovations. There are hundreds of academic papers published every day, with millions published every year. The point is: there is still so much to learn. At my NextEra internship we talked a decent bit about 3D printers and the various types of printers that exist. Plastic, resin, metal, and wax are a few materials that can be printed by a 3D printer. This article titled, “Scientists grow metal instead of 3D printing it — and it’s 20x stronger,” on Science Daily by Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) states there’s an even better alternative. I had already thought 3D printers that create metal were impressive, but to think that there is something better! This is why I love science as a whole: it is always changing and there is no one answer to any problem.

Scientists at EPFL have developed a new way to make metals and ceramics by “growing” them inside 3D-printed hydrogels instead of printing the metals directly. The process involves printing a simple water-based gel, soaking it in metal salts to form nanoparticles, and repeating this several times before heating to remove the gel which leaves behind a dense, high-strength metal structure. This method produces materials up to 20 times stronger and with much less shrinkage than previous techniques. Because the metal is added after printing, the same gel framework can be used to create various materials like iron, copper, or ceramics, offering a cheaper and more versatile approach for building strong, lightweight components for energy, sensor, and biomedical devices. This breakthrough could revolutionize manufacturing by enabling faster, more efficient production of durable materials used in clean energy systems, medical implants, and advanced electronics.

Right now, the new EPFL method is slower than directly 3D-printing metals because it requires multiple soaking and heating steps (called “growth cycles”) to build up metal density. However, it’s more effective in producing stronger, denser, and less warped materials, which means better performance and less waste in the long run. The researchers are currently working on automating the process with robots to make it faster and scalable. So while it’s not more time-efficient yet, it’s material- and quality-efficient, offering a huge advantage for high-precision applications like energy devices or medical implants.

References

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. “Scientists grow metal instead of 3D printing it — and it’s 20x stronger.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 October 2025. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251009033209.htm.