Research Articles

A complimentary collection of insights written by IDTechEx industry experts, covering key technology innovation trends shaping the next decade.

Amine solvents are the leading technologies for post-combustion capture, but innovation is ongoing. In this article, IDTechEx explores technologies and markets for post-combustion capture.

New sustainability innovations and trends are ever emerging under the decarbonization umbrella, evident amongst a number of material sectors. This article explores next-generation feedstocks, speciality chemicals, and the production of green steel.

3D printing as an industry is seeing increased attention for its versatility and convenience. This article covers metal additive manufacturing and the scope for its diversity and flexibility within the sector.

Across the global autonomous vehicle landscape, commercial trucks are emerging as one of the first segments to reach true-scale deployment. in China, the pace of adoption has accelerated dramatically: trucks equipped with assisted driving systems now collectively log over one million kilometers every day. To gain deeper insights into this rapid transformation, Shihao Fu, an analyst specializing in autonomous driving at IDTechEx, recently visited Inceptio Technology, a leading Chinese autonomous trucking company.

'Robotics' takes on many different forms today. This article explores the way cars could pre-empt a driver's needs and make coffee-stop decisions en route, to humanoid robots operating in warehouses and cobots assisting humans in production lines.

In this article, IDTechEx Technology Analyst Noah El Alami explores the leading candidates for early commercial use cases of quantum computers. Chemistry simulations, optimization, and cybersecurity all have potential, but what will be the "killer app"?

Increased efficiency and flexibility are two increasingly desirable qualities of photovoltaics, and the implementation of new materials and form factors could reshape the landscape of solar energy. This article covers developments in thin-film photovoltaic technology and the adoption of new materials like perovskites.

In electric vehicle (EV) batteries, coatings play a critical role in enhancing performance, safety and longevity. This article highlights the latest technologies, developments, applications and outlook for advanced coatings in EV battery applications. Fire protection, dielectric insulation, corrosion protection and thermally conductive coatings are all covered.

The market for remote battery monitoring is expected to continue to grow over the next decade, fueled by demand from mobility and energy storage system managers. This trend is tied to increasing interest in wireless battery management systems (wBMSs) to save on wiring costs and reduce battery pack complexity, though the majority of the market will continue to be made up of wired BMSs using gateways to convert to wireless communications protocols.

Building a hydrogen economy is widely considered to be an essential part of global decarbonization. Green hydrogen could play an important role in mitigating environmental impacts and support the transition to a cleaner energy system. This article explores emerging applications and electrolyzer technologies.

IDTechEx analyst Noah El Alami covers the eight different technology approaches to building a quantum computer, and discusses "Quantum as a Service" (QaaS).

Graphene has been discussed as a wonder material that will unlock the next-generation technologies seen in sci-fi movies. This article explores why these advances have not been seen, the tangible success that graphene has shown in consumer electronics and a look to the potential role of graphene in the next iteration of batteries.

Quantum technologies are a growing phenomenon, bringing new levels of sensitivity and intelligence to sensing and modern-day problem solving within some of the largest industries, and generating extremely high valued assets as a result. This article explores quantum sensors and quantum computing and some of the recent developments within the sectors.

Join IDTechEx critical materials expert Dr Jack Howley on Thursday 6th November for the webinar 'Critical Material Recovery from Waste: Trends, Technologies, and 20-Year Growth Outlook'. Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

Thermal management technologies are an integral part of systems within a number of sectors, ensuring optimized performance and safety. This article covers some of the thermal management techniques used in data centers and semiconductors.

Within the growing market for motors for EVs, there are trends around motor technology and topology, power and torque density, materials utilization, and thermal management. The new IDTechEx report "Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2026-2036: Technologies, Materials, Markets, and Forecasts" addresses these trends within the markets for battery-electric or hybrid cars, vans, trucks, buses, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and microcars, with OEM use-cases, benchmarking, and granular market forecasts.

Accessing health metrics during any hour of the day is becoming the new norm as wearable technology is gaining traction and becoming increasingly widespread. This article covers some of the most popular wearable types alongside some newer, emerging applications.

The solid-state battery (SSB) industry is transforming, driven by advanced technologies and rising demand across applications. Offering breakthroughs in safety and energy density, SSBs could reach a $10 billion market by 2036. The IDTechEx report "Solid-State Batteries 2026-2036: Technology, Forecasts, Players" provides a comprehensive analysis of this dynamic industry, exploring the interplay between cutting-edge technologies, market trends, manufacturing challenges, and the global ecosystem surrounding solid-state batteries.

Thermal runaway in lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries has become one of the most pressing challenges for the global battery energy storage system (BESS) industry.

The telecom industry deploys new generations of wireless communications roughly every 10 years, with 6G expected to enter commercial use around 2030. So what is 6G, why is it needed, and how does it offer to change the game after the somewhat lacklustre performance of its predecessor, 5G?

2025 has been a turning point for the power electronics industry. Despite a slowdown in EV (electric vehicle) sales, IDTechEx forecasts a tripling in the market size of the power electronics for electric vehicles market, to US$42 billion by 2036. In IDTechEx's new report, "Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2026-2036: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts", these trends are analyzed and used to forecast unit sales, market size, and US$ per kW.

Join IDTechEx decarbonization expert Eve Pope on Thursday 30th October for the webinar 'Innovations in Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Technologies', where she will share insight into the CCUS space. Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

The RFID industry is expected to maintain its upward trajectory, with IDTechEx forecasting the passive RFID market to reach a total value of US$8.4 billion in 2025, representing growth of approximately 10% compared to 2024. This article provides a detailed breakdown of the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) and High Frequency (HF) segments, analyzing their current market dynamics, growth drivers, and long-term opportunities.

Despite six rounds of negotiations to establish a global plastics treaty aimed at curbing plastic pollution, talks reached a stalemate last month. This highlights the urgent need for the development of efficient microplastic capture technologies to tackle microplastic pollution. IDTechEx looks at the emerging technologies to capture and filter microplastics, covering physical, chemical, and biological processes, and the players at the forefront of developing these solutions.

Join IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Dr Conor O'Brien on Thursday 23rd October for 'Cementing its Future: How Graphene Will Achieve Success in Concrete', an insightful webinar considering if its use in the construction industry could mark graphene's long-awaited breakthrough into mainstream markets and the associated commercial success. Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

The sleekening and thinning down of electronics is a trend that isn't expected to leave any time soon, as miniaturization, seamlessness, and ease of use continue to be driving factors behind the technological developments across a number of industries. This article explores in-mold electronics, photovoltaics, conductive inks, and flexible batteries.

Growing export restrictions placed on defense-related rare earth materials from China at a time of multiple international conflicts underscores growing demand in the US and Europe to develop alternative supply. China's latest export restrictions on critical rare earth elements applies yet more pressure to what are already tightly controlled materials.

As the trend of vehicle intelligence enhancement rises, in-cabin sensing systems will be largely responsible for increased communication, sensitivity, and smart features within cars. This article explores new developments within the sector and the ways AI is shaping smart interiors.

As of 2025, single-phase direct-to-chip (D2C) liquid cooling remains the dominant solution for high-end GPU thermal management. However, with thermal design power (TDP) continuing to rise, the industry is approaching the limits of what single-phase cooling can handle. Two-phase D2C cooling is expected to enter large-scale deployment around 2027.

The increase in demand for high performance computing is resulting in the need for enhanced semiconductor performance, of which thermal management is a large component. This article covers some of the latest developments and favored materials involved in thermal management for advanced semiconductor packaging.

The performance of supercapacitors is dominated by design and materials choice. Carbon-based materials for electrodes have dominated in the supercapacitors market for electric double-layer supercapacitors (EDLCs), due to low cost, cycling durability and conductivity, and IDTechEx expects this will continue to be the case in the coming decade.

IDTechEx's new report "Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2026-2036" analyzes the growth potential and future trends in WBG technologies, from the rapid scaling of SiC MOSFETs to the potential of GaN to consolidate itself in the EV power electronics market. The report includes granular forecasts detailing unit sales, power (GW), and market size (US$) demand segmented by inverters, onboard chargers (OBC), and DC-DC converters by voltage (600V, 1200V) and semiconductor technology (Si, SiC, GaN).

Join IDTechEx Technology Analyst Thomas Bithell on Thursday 16th October for 'Coating Solutions Providing Advanced Corrosion Protection', an insightful webinar on innovation in anticorrosion coatings. Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

Metal-organic frameworks, more commonly known as MOFs, have been recognized with the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Nobel Prize award recognizes the promise and potential of MOFs, but the question remains over whether MOFs can deliver on the gap between the promise and real-world adoption. IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Dr Shababa Selim explains more in this new article.

In this article by Technology Analyst Noah El Alami, IDTechEx explains how the recent announcement of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics links closely to the quantum computing industry, where the prize-winning research has been foundational in building superconducting quantum chips.