IDTechEx

Could There be a Li-Ion Battery Shortage?

IDTechEx forecast Li-ion demand to grow almost 10-fold from 2020-2030, but can supply meet this demand? Automotive manufacturers the world over are pledging to electrify their fleets.

Redox Flow Batteries' Advantages for Stationary Energy Storage Market

An increasing number of news articles about "Redox Flow Batteries" are present on the web. This technology, mostly adopted in on-grid and off-grid applications, has been studied for the last 50 years, and it is currently being commercialized (most of the time) in a containerized size, for medium- and large-scale applications.

GM and Honda to Jointly Develop Two All-New Electric Vehicles

General Motors and Honda have agreed to jointly develop two all-new electric vehicles for Honda, based on GM's highly flexible global EV platform powered by proprietary Ultium batteries. The exteriors and interiors of the new EVs will be exclusively designed by Honda, and the platform will be engineered to support Honda's driving character.

Battery Chemistry Promises Safer High-Voltage Lithium-Ion Batteries

For the first time, researchers have found a new way to improve lithium-ion batteries. They successfully increased not only the voltage delivery of a lithium-ion battery but also its ability to suppress dangerous conditions that affect the current range of batteries. This improved lithium-ion battery could make longer journeys in electric vehicles possible and lead to the creation of a new generation of home energy storage, both with improved fire safety.

World's First Ultrasound Biosensor

The ability to accurately monitor drug levels and biological molecules inside patients in real time has remained largely elusive. Most of the implantable monitors invented so far rely on high tech and expensive detectors such as CT scans or MRI. Using ultrasound - which is cheap and portable - as a means to track a disease state as in response of a tumour to a new drug or the risk of a heart attack with the rise of a diagnostic protein called troponin has always been more a Blue Sky than reality.

Quantum Phenomenon Governs Organic Solar Cells

Researchers have discovered a quantum phenomenon that influences the formation of free charges in organic solar cells.

3D Printed Soft, Rubbery Brain Implants

Engineers are working on developing soft, flexible neural implants that can gently conform to the brain's contours and monitor activity over longer periods, without aggravating surrounding tissue. Such flexible electronics could be softer alternatives to existing metal-based electrodes designed to monitor brain activity, and may also be useful in brain implants that stimulate neural regions to ease symptoms of epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and severe depression.

Neural Networks Facilitate Optimization in Search for New Materials

When searching through theoretical lists of possible new materials for particular applications, such as batteries or other energy-related devices, there are often millions of potential materials that could be considered, and multiple criteria that need to be met and optimized at once. Now, researchers have found a way to dramatically streamline the discovery process, using a machine learning system.

Robotic Turtles for Fish Farms

Robotic turtles used for surveillance could help prevent escapes from salmon farms. The "turtle robots" are paving the way for a technology that improves monitoring inside sea cages.

Researchers Investigate if Wearable can Help Predict COVID-19

The Central Queensland University plans to conduct a study using 24/7 physiological data, collected via the wrist-worn WHOOP Strap 3.0, from hundreds of self-identified COVID-19 cases among WHOOP members, to better understand the current health crisis.

Could Vertical Farming be the Solution to Supermarket Supply Problems

Empty supermarket shelves have become a common sight in recent weeks. Coronavirus Has Highlighted the Problems in Supermarket Supply: Could Vertical Farming Be The Solution?

Hot Performance and Cool Operation for Electric Vehicle Motors

The market for electric vehicles is set to exceed $1,000bn by 2030 but potential consumers are still concerned with range, cost and safety. Whilst this draws attention initially to the battery, an equally important factor and unifying component of electric vehicles is the electric motor and its effective thermal management.

ColRobot, the Collaborative Industrial Robot

For 3 years, ColRobot worked on the development of collaborative robotics to help overcome some of the biggest common challenges in the automotive and aerospace industries, such as large backlogs of orders and the need for flexibility to meet market demands. The crown jewel of their innovative technology was a robotic mobile manipulator which acts as a 'third hand' for production line workers.

Enovix Secures $45 Million to Produce 3D Silicon Lithium-ion Battery

Enovix Corporation has secured $45 million in new funds to produce and commercialize its 3D Silicon Lithium-ion Battery.

Wearable For Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Adults with type 2 diabetes requiring insulin therapy can safely achieve good blood sugar control using regular human insulin in a wearable, patch-like insulin delivery device called V-Go.

Energy-Harvesting Design Aims to Turn Wi-Fi Signals Into Useable Power

Any device that sends out a Wi-Fi signal also emits terahertz waves —electromagnetic waves with a frequency somewhere between microwaves and infrared light. These high-frequency radiation waves, known as "T-rays," are also produced by almost anything that registers a temperature, including our own bodies and the inanimate objects around us.

Printing Complex Cellulose Based Objects

Researchers have set a new world record: they 3D printed complex objects with higher cellulose content than that of any other additively manufactured cellulose-​based parts. To achieve this, they used a clever trick.

Protean Electric

Protean are specialists in the design, manufacture and application of in-wheel motors. Their technology allows for the entire drive and brake unit to be housed inside the wheel along with associated electronics. With the technology demonstrated, the challenge is to see a greater adoption across the electric vehicle market.

Brain Reading Technology for Brainwave-Controlled Devices

A new method to accurately record brain activity at scale has been developed by researchers. The technique could lead to new medical devices to help amputees, people with paralysis or people with neurological conditions such as motor neurone disease.

Creating Food Perception Illusions using Food 3D Printing

Food 3D printing enables the creation of customized food structures based on a person's individual needs. Researchers have explored the use of food 3D printing to create perceptual illusions for controlling the level of perceived satiety given a defined amount of calories.