9 Aug 2019

3-D Printed Mother-of-Pearl creates tough new smart materials
Researchers are drawing inspiration from mollusks to build lightweight, strong materials for wearable technology and more.
7 Aug 2019

Building a 'Swarm' of 3D-Printing Robots
Imagine the interior of a cavernous structure, a factory or airplane hangar, for example. And inside this spacious room, a swarm of robots, dozens, if not hundreds of autonomous machines, scaled up to the size of giant forklifts, are working together, like army ants, to build a commercial airplane, layer by layer, instead of assembling and riveting metal sheets.
Background
2 Aug 2019

Avantium
Avantium is a spin-out from Royal Dutch Shell, founded to develop advanced catalysts to create more environmentally friendly materials. IDTechEx Technology Analyst Dr Bryony Core finds out about their latest activities in the world of biobased intermediates and polymers.
25 Jul 2019

Financing gives major boost to Tanzania's mini-grid sector
CrossBoundaryEnergyAccess, Africa's first project financing facility for mini-grids, is announcing its first transaction to finance 60 mini-grids in Tanzania in partner-ship with PowerGen Renewable Energy.
23 Jul 2019

New laws of attraction: Scientists print magnetic liquid droplets
Scientists have made a new material that is both liquid and magnetic, opening the door to a new area of science in magnetic soft matter. Their findings could lead to a revolutionary class of printable liquid devices for a variety of applications from artificial cells that deliver targeted cancer therapies to flexible liquid robots that can change their shape to adapt to their surroundings.
5 Jul 2019

Solar mini-grid distribution in Nigeria
Arnergy's distributed renewable energy systems harness the combination of solar power,
superior storage solutions and proprietary remote management technologies to deliver scalable,
reliable and affordable energy solutions that are tailored to tackle issues related to intermittency
and grid unreliability.
6 Jun 2019

Hydropower Questioned by IDTechEx Research: Better Alternatives Exist
Hydropower takes years to install and it can drown vegetation creating years of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Dams have burst in three countries recently. Fortunately many better options are available or emerging. The strong trend now is to making electricity where you need it, from your solar watch to your village microgrid. Both are evidence of another trend which is the ability to move your zero-emission electricity generation.
5 Jun 2019

Slothbot takes a leisurely approach to environmental monitoring
For environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, infrastructure maintenance and certain security applications, slow and energy efficient can be better than fast and always needing a recharge. That's where "SlothBot" comes in.
External press release
29 May 2019

TRENDE, Toyota , UTokyo experiment next-gen electricity system
TRENDE Inc, Toyota Motor Corporation and the University of Tokyo will conduct a joint experiment with a next-generation peer-to-peer electricity system that enables homes, businesses, and electric vehicles connected to the electricity grid to trade electricity using a blockchain.
17 May 2019

How the snail's shell got its coil
Successfully applying CRISPR gene editing technology to molluscs for the first time, researchers have now made snails with mutations in a gene called Lsdia1, which had previously been suggested - but not conclusively proven - to be involved in snail shell coiling; snails without a functional copy of Lsdia1 produce offspring with shells that coil to the left, showing that this single gene is responsible for rightwardcoiling.
24 Apr 2019

Zero-emission trucking takes another leap forward
Toyota, Kenworth, the Port of Los Angeles and the California Air Resources Board took the next great leap towards the future of zero-emission trucking, unveiling the first of Toyota and Kenworth's jointly developed fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks.
24 Apr 2019

Snake-inspired robot slithers even better
Bad news for ophiophobes: Researchers have developed a new and improved snake-inspired soft robot that is faster and more precise than its predecessor.
15 Mar 2019

Next Electric Vehicles Get Ultra Lightweight Motors
In electric aircraft, motor power-to-weight ratio is paramount for endurance, the main constraint on sales. You cannot lug ever more battery weight to get range. Indeed, better motors mean less battery in a land, water or air vehicle. The new IDTechEx Research report, "Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles: Land, Water, Air 2019-2029" explains the new emphasis on power-to-weight ratio with good efficiency.
7 Mar 2019

Elastic fibre with the strength of metal
Researchers have developed a fiber that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of a metal, resulting in a tougher material that could be incorporated into soft robotics, packaging materials or next-generation textiles.
Background
4 Mar 2019

JIOS Aerogel
Update on JIOS Aerogel in March 2019.
27 Feb 2019

Shell has agreed to acquire 100% of sonnen
Shell has agreed to acquire 100% of sonnen, a leader in smart energy storage systems and innovative energy services for households. This follows an investment by Shell in May 2018 and means that, post regulatory approval and completion, sonnen will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell.
26 Feb 2019

Huge Battery Opportunities from Radical Changes in EV Demand
The biggest demand for lithium-ion batteries is moving away from cars and in electric cars it will be a matter of less battery on average.
20 Feb 2019

Quantum dots: technology evolution display, lighting, sensor material
Quantum dots are a commercial success for nanotechnology. They are already used in display applications. In this article, we discuss multiple innovation and commercialization frontiers of this technology.
Update
21 Jan 2019

Hanyang University
Hanyang University showed their research at CES2019
16 Jan 2019

Toyota and Kenworth collaborate to develop zero emission trucks
Kenworth Truck Company and Toyota Motor North America are collaborating to develop 10 zero-emission Kenworth T680s powered by Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains.