The automobile industry has had applications for ceramics for a long time: for example, the production of spark plugs; but more recently, ceramics have made their appearance in the area of oxygen probes or gas sensors and in making turbines for hybrid electrical vehicles.

Wear parts (for example, push rods) and piston pins in silicium nitride have been developed, while water pump joints of alumina or silicium carbide are already being mass produced.

Finally, the next decade should see the development of turbocharger rotors and parts for gas turbines in silicium nitride.

In the energy field, the manufacture of heat exchangers or battery parts, or fuel cells constitute a growing market for ceramic materials.

Alongside applications requiring solid parts, ceramics are increasingly being used in these areas in the form of a deposit using various techniques adapted to specific needs (heat projection, CVD chemical vapour deposition, PVD physical vapour deposition).