The development of materials designed for application in extreme environments is a very active field of research. In recent years, it has been realized by the materials science community that solutions to demanding applications in different fields can be identified by implementing common materials concepts. Research effort and technological development, driven by application requirements, are now a bridge between apparently separate communities. As first realized by the European Integrated Project “ExtreMat – New Materials for Extreme Applications”, common materials solutions are now being sought and found in the fields of thermal management materials, protective materials, radiation-resistant materials, bonding and interfaces, as well as advanced materials characterization and application-oriented testing.