This review paper summarizes the current state-of-art and challenges for thefuture developments of fiber-reinforced composites for structural applicationswith multifunctional capabilities. After a brief analysis of the reasons of thesuccessful incorporation of fiber-reinforced composites in many differentindustrial sectors, the review analyzes three critical factors that will definethe future of composites. The first one is the application of novelfiber-deposition and preforming techniques together with innovative liquidmoulding strategies, which will be combined by optimization tools based onnovel multiscale modelling approaches, so fiber-reinforced composites withoptimized properties can be designed and manufactured for each application. Inaddition, composite applications will be enhanced by the incorporation ofmultifunctional capabilities. Among them, electrical conductivity, energystorage (structural supercapacitors and batteries) and energy harvesting(piezoelectric and solar energy) seem to be the most promising ones.
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