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The chemical fueling of transient states (CFTS) is a powerful process tocontrol the nonequilibrium structuring and the homeostatic function of adaptivesoft matter systems. Here, we introduce a mean-field model of CFTS based on theactivation of metastable equilibrium states in a tilted Landau bistable energylandscape along a coarse-grained reaction coordinate (or order parameter)triggered by a nonmonotonic two-step chemical fueling reaction. Evaluation ofthe model in the quasi-static (QS) limit - valid for fast system relaxation -allows us to extract useful analytical laws for the critical activationconcentration and duration of the transient states in dependence of physicalparameters, such as rate constants, fuel concentrations, and the system'sdistance to its equilibrium transition point. We apply our model in the QSlimit to recent experiments of CFTS of collapsing responsive microgels and finda very good performance with only a few global and physically interpretablefitting parameters, which can be employed for programmable material design.Moreover, our model framework also allows a thermodynamic analysis of theenergy and performed work in the system. Finally, we go beyond the QS limit,where the system's response is slow and retarded versus the chemical reaction,using an overdamped Smoluchowski approach. The latter demonstrates how internalsystem time scales can be used to tune the time-dependent behavior andprogrammed delay of the transient states in full nonequilibrium.

Mean-field models for the chemical fueling of transient soft matter states