Research Articles

Zero power wireless sensors are now available, which bring together new low power wireless ICs with energy harvesters (which harvest energy from heat, light or motion, for example) and the appropriate form of energy storage and conditioning.

Contrary to popular understanding, people have been making money out of electric vehicles for over 110 years. Unfortunately there have also been bankruptcies in the electric vehicle business in most of those years. The primary difference lies in market positioning not brilliant inventions, working long hours, automation of production, matching the size of your operation to the amount of business you can realistically gain - avoiding over and under-investment - and other aspects that come to mind. Those are sometimes important but always secondary. In market positioning, the two key factors are avoiding excessive competition, including rigged markets, and making what will be wanted in the years to come.

In this article we share some of our research for the new IDTechEx report, Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2012-2022.

Graphene is considered a hot candidate for applications such as computers, displays, photovoltaics, and flexible electronics.

IDTechEx, the organiser of the World's largest global series of Printed Electronics events will hold its European show in Berlin, Germany on 3-4 April. The focus, as at all IDTechEx events, is to address the needs and experiences of adopters of the technology.

Over the next decade, the most vibrant Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) markets will be the contactless charging of portable and mobile equipment, in particular consumer electronics and electric vehicles.

This year, the world's largest event on printed electronics, "printed Electronics USA" will reflect the widening government support for printed electronics. Beyond the burgeoning programs at universities and government research centers, this is particularly evident in military and electric vehicle work. The US Army reflects this in two presentations. One is an overview of materials printing capabilities and prototype development for US Army applications and the other concerns direct write approaches to nanoscale electronics.

IDTechEx has tracked the printed electronics market since 2002. We have conducted extensive research programs, run our own events internationally and attended most other relevant events. Being impartial, we state the good and the bad. So what have we learnt?

According to IDTechEx research in the new report "Brand Enhancement by Electronics in Packaging 2012-2022" the global demand for electronic smart packaging devices is currently at a tipping point and will grow rapidly from $0.03 billion in 2012 to $1.7 billion in 2022. The electronic packaging (e-packaging) market will remain primarily in consumer packaged goods CPG reaching 35 billion units that have electronic functionality in 2022.

According to IDTechEx research in the new report Wireless Sensor Networks 2011-2021, WSN will grow rapidly from $0.45 billion in 2011 to $2 billion in 2021.

In 2011, IDTechEx research finds that the amount of money spent on energy harvesters will be $0.7Bn, with several hundred developers involved throughout the value chain.

This year's Printed Electronics USA will take place in Santa Clara on November 30 and December 1. Analysts IDTechEx who organise the largest event on the subject, have paid a lot of attention once more to the end user streams. Their presence and contributions to the latest instalment of the successful series of events will be appropriate to the new direction of this burgeoning industry.

Fuel cells were originally considered to be replacements for internal combustion engines used in traditional vehicles and replacements for traction batteries used in pure electric vehicles.

Led by the Japanese and with Hyundai of Korea, the Europeans and the Americans coming up fast, we are in the decade of the hybrid vehicle, with much more being spent on them than on pure electric vehicles. This is because traction batteries alone cannot affordably provide sufficient range in most of the large applications by land, sea or air.

IDTechEx is recruiting, and seeks a Technology Analyst, preferably with knowledge of the electric vehicle and/or smart grid sector. We welcome candidates to approach us.

This article shares some of the research in the new IDTechEx report, {{Range Extenders for Electric Vehicles | http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/range-extenders-for-electric-vehicles-2011-2021-000276.asp}}. We are in the age of the hybrid electric vehicle which is strongly outselling the pure electric vehicle in market value though not in numbers over the next decade.

The judges noted very innovative and impressive features with real benefits for electric vehicles.

Keynote Presentations at IDTechEx Energy Harvesting and WSN Europe, Munich, 21 June 2011.

IDTechEx began exploring energy harvesting for small devices four years ago when it was obvious that conventional batteries were a dead end for many wireless sensor applications.

In April 2011, it was announced that Sweden will test the world's first fast rechargeable hybrid bus in Umeå City with a pantograph-based fast charging station, Bůsbaar, developed by Opbrid Transporte Sostenible S.L. It will be a Volvo 7700 diesel converted to hybrid.

IDTechEx forecasts of sales of hybrid cars presume that, as the decade progresses, more and more of them will be offered at no price premium.

Printed Electronics Europe in Düsseldorf grew again, remaining Europe's largest event on the subject.

The annual printed electronics award winners were announced on April 5th at the IDTechEx Awards

Over twenty million electric vehicles produced in 2010 will employ on-board energy harvesting to help charge the traction batteries. That includes both hybrid and pure electric vehicles.

Energy harvesters enabling micro-power generation provide new levels of efficiency and automation in the built environment, process control, vehicles and healthcare.

Excitingly, the subject has now moved beyond peer reviewed academic papers to doing business. The largest European event on the subject will again be Printed Electronics Europe in Düsseldorf Germany in April 5-6 (www.IDTechEx.com/peEurope) and it will be all about who can sell to whom and how this powerful enabling technology can transform society for the better as well as creating wealth.

Printed electronics is one of the most important new enabling technologies.

There are now other forms of energy harvesters developed initially at the micro level which are now being scaled to produce enough energy to replace or supplement grid power.

Printed electronics is associated with some orders, investments and acquisitions that are one hundred times as big as the largest two years ago.

The annual IDTechEx conference on the Future of Electric Vehicles - land, water and air held in San Jose, California saw 200 attendees with 12 exhibitors. The event, hosted the gala awards to recognise outstanding achievement in the industry. The chairman of IDTechEx Dr Peter Harrop opened the awards.

Last week the annual IDTechEx Printed Electronics event was held in the heart of Silicon Valley in California. Almost 1200 people attended the conference and 49,000 square foot exhibition.

The fourth annual printed electronics winners were announced on Dec 1st at the IDTechEx Awards Dinner in Santa Clara, USA.

The IDTechEx exhibition with the only co-located conference on Energy Harvesting & Storage with Wireless Sensor Networks & Real Time Locating Systems saw an unprecedented 340 people attending and 28 exhibitors.

Last week the second annual IDTechEx Energy Harvesting & Storage USA 2010 event opened to 340 people and 28 exhibitors, up significantly from the previous year, indicative of the rising interest in the topic. The event was co-located with the IDTechEx Wireless Sensor Networks and RTLS conference, bringing together all those involved in these two industries.

Companies were recognized for their outstanding progress in the fields of Energy Harvesting and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) at the IDTechEx awards dinner in Boston, MA on November 16.

The Printed Electronics series of conferences and tradeshows hosted by IDTechEx are attended by a large number of end users from many verticals, including electronics, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, military, advertising & media and toy industries. These companies attend our events to meet with suppliers and preview what is currently available or what is becoming available in the near future.