The advanced material POLYMET is an innovative high tech polymer with a three-dimensional polymeric structure metallized with an enclosing, coating of different kinds of metals or alloys. The result is a range of tailor-made, microporous structures on a designable scale. By varying the metals and alloys, it is possible to draw upon extremely diverse areas of applications such as battery systems, fuel cells, filters or efficient catalysts as well as air regeneration systems, e.g. in aerospace. The three-dimensional structure of metallized high tech woven or non-woven materials or foams causes a lot of advantages such as high conductivity, high corrosion resistance, flexibility or mechanical strength. Therefore, POLYMET is suitable for, e.g. current collectors or gas diffusion layers in energy storage systems. They supply an economic and environmental alternative material to improve functional electrochemical systems. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.