Research Articles

In their new report "3D Printing Ceramics 2022-2032: Technology and Market Outlook", IDTechEx forecasts the ceramic 3D printing industry to grow 7-fold to $400M by 2032. Given how young the market is, seven-fold growth in the next 10 years indicates a positive future for the industry.

Autonomous cars will match or exceed human safety by 2024, after which they will grow rapidly at a CAGR of 30% finds IDTechEx's new report "Autonomous Cars, Robotaxis & Sensors 2022-2042". By the 2040s, they will be capable of fulfilling the world's mobility needs without a single collision. So why should humans be allowed to continue driving?

Thursday 16 September 2021 - Why are the most popular applications being added beyond today's popular microwave frequencies for deployed metamaterials? Why will sophisticated metasurfaces be essential for planned terahertz 6G communications, transforming your mobile phone and much more?

Electraflyer has announced that it has passed crossover, meaning it now sells more battery-electric aircraft than polluting ones. Pipistrel sold over 100 battery-electric aircraft last year as they take over from its traditional offerings. Bye Aerospace does not even make conventional aircraft. With its Tesla-style approach, its order book exceeds 720 battery-electric aircraft evenly split between two and four-seaters. As the IDTechEx report, "Manned Electric Aircraft: Smart City and Regional 2021-2041" points out, this has caught Cessna, Cirrus and Piper by surprise.

Join the IDTechEx Webinar Thursday 9 September 2021 - An introduction for Electrically conductive adhesives; A summary of different competing die attach technologies; The main applications of ECAs; The main materials used for ECAs; and A summary of the growing and changing market for ECAs.

Thermoelectrics is a business impeded by the use of the toxic rare metal Tellurium. Commendably, there is a trend to alternatives in research but few volume sales as yet in any of the three uses. These are energy harvesting to make electricity where it is needed and the more successful cooling and heating, those last two constituting very-reliable, solid heat pumps.

Thursday 2 September - 5G small cells overview (players analysis, product benchmark, technologies trend, technology benchmark); How digital transformation of our society will be realized by 5G small cells; How 5G small cells are compared to other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi 6; 5G small cell market and the future outlook

Thursday 26 August 2021 - Why is even seasonal storage a new requirement? How is it that storage by compressed air, gravity and other non-battery options closely leverage mine assets for greater safety and viability? Why does next generation solar fit so well in mines? and more.

With the growing momentum behind the electric vehicle market comes an added importance of understanding the Li-ion batteries that power them, the variety of design choices available, and trends in their implementation.

This week the US federal agency governing road safety has announced an investigation into Tesla and its self-driving car claims, bringing the challenges of autonomous vehicle adoption to the spotlight.

Metamaterials are added-value materials. The IDTechEx report, "Metamaterial and Metasurface Markets Electromagnetic 2022-2042" helps you prosper by making and deploying them everywhere. Who should you partner with, emulate or buy?

To mark National Aviation Day, a celebration of the history and development of aviation, IDTechEx analysts consider the future of electric aircraft.

AI in drug discovery is a field that has received an immense increase in interest, uptake, and investment over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While lockdowns forced everyone around the world to explore virtual ways of working, the biopharma industry faced the additional task of quickly developing new drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. Enter the application of AI in drug discovery - a technology that promises to drastically cut down timelines and costs, and potentially, develop safer and more efficacious drugs.

Additive manufacturing of composites is approaching an inflection point. In their new report "3D Printing Composites 2021-2031: Technology and Market Analysis", IDTechEx forecast the market to reach $2bn by 2031.

An underlying issue faced by consumers and EV makers is the inadequate number of charge points in optimal locations and having the correct connectors for their cars. Multiple co-existing standards have become a given in the past decade, and there was no sign of harmonisation visible to the public. In the relatively short history of DC fast charging systems, the background of multi-standard charging in different regions is well known at least amongst e-mobility stakeholders. This premium article reviews the different charging plugs that exist, their historical development and factors that will influence the harmonisation of DC fast charging standards in the future.

Local Motors with its Olli robot shuttle is progressing at a furious pace making others look - well - pedestrian. IDTechEx reports predicted the progress in the industry and the latest one, "Robot Shuttles for Smart Cities 2021-2041" roadmaps a lot more that will come from the Teslas of this industry.

IDTechEx has a detailed market research report on the drone technologies market, "Drone Market and Industries 2021-2041". In this report, IDTechEx combines expert analysis and years of knowledge of this innovative industry to disseminate the most important and critical information into one clear concise market research report. This article discusses the use case of drones in agricultural applications.

The development of new technology often creates new opportunities to provide value to customers in new products. Electronic textiles have hundreds of potential use cases, many of which are being explored by different companies around the world. So where is the "killer app" for e-textiles?

Whilst IDTechEx expects EVs to continually improve in safety, there will always be the risk of a battery fire due to many potential causes. This presents an opportunity for those material suppliers making thermal interface materials (TIMs), flame-retardant materials, or fire protection materials.

IDTechEx have recently launched "Electrically Conductive Adhesives (ECAs) 2022-2032", a market research report detailing the technology of ECAs, a form of conductive joining technology. Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are a growing competitor to lead-free solders and silver sintering technologies, and currently see use in several electronics applications, such as automotive electronics, consumer electronics, and display applications.

Imagine mines with so much electricity production and storage that they do far more downstream processing. As reserves deplete, many will even transition to being zero-emission power stations and electricity storage for local communities and industry or even national grids. The cost of making-good becomes income from reinvention. That is the untold story of mining electrification, beyond the vital safety, greening, and cost reduction of electrics.

China's electric two-wheeler market is the largest electric vehicle market in the world. Some 29.66 million were produced in 2020 (with sales typically at over 98% of production). Today, however, the market is no longer seeing the explosive growth of the past, the IDTechEx report "Electric Two-wheelers 2021-2041" finds.

The first part of this premium article examines trends of Micro-LED, LCD, OLED, and QD-LCD displays, and value propositions of micro-LED displays and corresponding application trends

While vehicle interiors might be an obvious target for emerging technologies based on printed/flexible electronics, there are also plenty of opportunities for vehicle exteriors. These range from transparent heaters to solar panels, and benefit from attributes as varied as transparency, conformality, low weight, and tunable absorption spectra.

Thermoelectric cooling, heating, and harvesting is partly a great success now, partly to be a success later. First to analyze this big picture is the new IDTechEx report, "Thermoelectric Cooling, Heating, Harvesting: 90 Companies' Achievements and Strategies Appraised with Roadmap 2022-2042".

While they may have struggled to find their place in the market over the past few years, there will be significant adoption of redox flow batteries towards the end of the next decade according to a new IDTechEx market report, "Redox Flow Batteries 2021-2031".

Air taxi operators are unfazed by the 200 or so organizations designing vertical take-off electric aircraft. Follow the economics and the orders not the fluid investments from people seeking the next Tesla. Those getting the huge investments often lack significant orders.

The increasing adoption of computational image analysis is creating opportunities for many new types of image sensors. One of the most innovative and commercially promising technologies is event-based vision, which is a bio-inspired method of acquiring visual data that promises multiple advantages.

Solid-state batteries keep on attracting tremendous attention and investment with the maturing technologies and closeness to mass production. Even with the influence of COVID-19, the potential market size is expected to grow to over $8 billion by 2031, according to IDTechEx's report "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2021-2031: Technology, Forecasts, Players".

3D printing of fiber-reinforced polymers is rapidly approaching a commercial tipping point. This is quickly becoming one of the most exciting and impactful areas of 3D printing; over the next decade the market will grow to $2 billion, the installed base and applications will expand, and technology will continue to mature.

A more value-added approach to repurposing redundant fossil fuel assets such as coal mines and power stations is available.

Wednesday 28 July 2021 - Plant-Based Meat: Able to Disrupt the $1 Trillion Global Meat Industry? This webinar includes the sustainability issues facing the meat industry and the need for alternatives; investments made into the plant-based meat industry; an overview of the major players in the field; and more.

Plant-based meat has increasingly been making headlines in recent years, as product sales swell and industry investment continues to reach dizzying heights.However, this is only the beginning. Plant-based meat producers are increasingly looking towards a range of emerging technologies to create the next generation of hyper-realistic plant-based alternatives.

Thursday 5 August 2021 - In this webinar, IDTechEx will give a detailed overview of the market including: Technical benchmarking studies; Market outlook; Key news, partnerships, and developments; Applications and case studies; and Challenges & industry pain points.

Electronic skin patches represent one wearable technology product type that is well suited for physiological monitoring. Over the last 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven a worldwide concerted effort to explore and revise our approaches to patient monitoring and infectious disease management. As with other wearable devices, electronic skin patch products have evolved significantly over this period of time.

Thursday 22 July 2021 - Shifting Thermal Management Strategies. Thermal management of electric vehicles is a key consideration for range, performance, lifetime and safety of EVs. There are several key trends within the EV market, several of which will change the materials, designs and markets for thermal management.