Research Articles

Nuclear SMRs offer a powerful tool for decarbonization, with Gen IV reactor design-based SMRs offering uses beyond supplying to the grid directly. This article by IDTechEx outlines some of the ways SMRs can work within the energy ecosystem, including decarbonizing industries, producing "pink hydrogen", and offering a potential solution to the data center energy crisis.

Augmented and virtual reality are being developed in new ways to enhance reality, from streamlined smart glasses to headsets with farfetched fantasy experiences. Extended reality (XR) headsets are proving useful not only for leisure purposes but also for industry use, training, and even rehabilitation. In IDTechEx's podcast, 'Tomorrow's Tech by IDTechEx', Senior Technology Analyst Sam Dale discusses the variety of benefits of VR and AR.

IDTechEx, a trusted provider of independent market intelligence, announces the availability of a new report, "Quantum Technology Market 2024-2034: Trends, Players, Forecasts". This report characterizes the entire quantum technology market, identifies key trends, and provides an overview of the major players.

3D electronics is an emerging manufacturing approach that enables electronics to be integrated within or onto the surface of objects. 3D electronic manufacturing techniques empower new features, including mass customizability, greater integration, and improved sustainability in the electronics industry.

IDTechEx announces the availability of a new report, "Silicon Photonics and Photonic Integrated Circuits 2024-2034: Market, Technologies, and Forecasts". This new report looks at key market players, emerging materials and technologies, and new applications. Granular 10-year market forecasts are also included.

At the end of February 2024, the UK ran its second Hydrogen Week. During this week, Hyundai set two new records for the driving range of its fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). While certainly a significant achievement, will the ultimate range of FCEVs impact consumer opinions and adoption?

With every successive year, the lines between medical devices and consumer electronics become increasingly blurred - medtech companies seek to expand their reach beyond patients, and consumer electronics companies have targeted medical applications as a key focus for their wearable products.

There is undoubtedly a huge push to build global DC fast-charging networks. The US government is providing more than $5 billion in funding and incentives as part of the NEVI program to build a coast-to-coast fast charging network, and many countries in Europe are rolling out similar programs following the AFIR regulations to spur EV charging infrastructure growth. 2024 will be a big year for EV charging, but, as IDTechEx discuss in this article, there's more to the story.

IDTechEx announces the availability of a new report, "Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) 2024-2034: Market, Technology, and Players". This comprehensive market report offers an independent analysis of metal-organic frameworks trends and considers applications of MOFs for carbon capture, water harvesting, chemical separation and purification, and several other early-stage technologies.

Semiconductor packaging has evolved from traditional 1D PCB levels to cutting-edge 3D hybrid bonding at the wafer level, achieving interconnecting pitches as small as single micrometers and over 1000 GB/s bandwidth. Key parameters, including Power, Performance, Area, and Cost, are crucial considerations. Power efficiency is enhanced through innovative packaging techniques, while Performance benefits from shorter interconnection pitches. Area requirements vary for high-performance chips and 3D integration's smaller z-form factor.

IDTechEx forecast the market for lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells to be worth US$380 billion by 2034, driven by advancements in technology and rapidly growing demand. While Li-ion batteries have been the dominant technology for electronic devices, electric vehicles (EV), and stationary energy storage systems, alternative battery technologies and chemistries continue to garner interest.

Automotive heads-up displays (HUDs) are currently being met with great enthusiasm and expectations. The increased usage of technology while driving and with drivers having to deviate their gaze from the road to look at the dashboard and center information displays (CID) in vehicles have resulted in more road accidents over the years. Drivers must deviate their gaze from the road to look at on-board diagnostics (OBDs), check the GPS, select music, and so on. HUDs present these images directly in the driver's line of sight, thus reducing the need for the driver to look away from the road.

The move towards 800V and above in electric vehicles is already well underway, spearheaded by numerous automotive OEMs such as GM, Hyundai, VW, and Lucid Motors. These platforms enhance efficiency by minimizing joule losses and allowing for the downsizing of high-voltage cabling, thus reducing weight.

Membrane materials are of fundamental importance for fuel cells, even giving their name to the specific type of fuel cell, as is the case for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Typically, these membranes consist of ionomers containing perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which in turn are subject to increasing concern and proposed regulations. In response to this, alternative materials for membranes are beginning to emerge.

The SDV and AI Cars market is set to be worth over US$700 billion by 2034, representing around 20% of the global car market, according to IDTechEx's "Software-Defined Vehicles, Connected Cars, and AI in Cars 2024-2034" report.

AI chips can empower the intelligence of robotics, with future potential for smarter and more independent cars and robots. Alongside the uses of Chat GPT and chatting with robots at home, the potential for this technology to enhance working environments and reinvent socializing is promising.

IDTechEx Research announces the availability of a new report, "3D Electronics/Additive Electronics 2024-2034: Technologies, Players, and Markets". This IDTechEx report assesses the competing technologies that will enable PCBs to be replaced with integrated electronics. It covers technologies, materials, and applications of electronics added to 3D surfaces, in-mold electronics (IME), and fully printed 3D electronics.

As green hydrogen increasingly garners recognition as a pivotal tool for decarbonizing various industries, the electrolyzer market is also observing a steady and consistent rise in the number of companies venturing into the development of electrolyzer stacks and production facilities.

Thursday 25 April 2024 - Hydrogen and Solar Charged Electric Vehicles: Navigating the EV Transition with Constrained Electrical Grids - Introduction to the need for off-grid charging; Overview of the main charging options; Relative advantages for each solution, and likely end-use sectors; Market outlook

Integrated sensors digitizing physical interactions are vital in everyday life. From personalized user experiences to warehouse inventory management, data-driven insights are driving demand for smarter sensors — and lots of them.

The chemical sector alone is responsible for 2% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and the industry depends heavily on finite fossil fuel feedstocks. The new IDTechEx report, "Carbon Dioxide Utilization 2024-2044: Technologies, Market Forecasts, and Players", explores how captured CO2 could be utilized as a feedstock for hundreds of different chemicals instead.

After years of hype, the 3D printing industry has moved onto a more critical examination of the value-add that effective additive manufacturing adoption brings to businesses and supply chains. In a recent episode on 3D printing, the technology innovation podcast 'Tomorrow's Tech by IDTechEx' explored the history and benefits of this versatile technology, which has existed for over 30 years yet is still finding new applications and end-users in many major sectors.

When it comes to transport, safety is of the utmost importance, and due to the exponentially increasing demand in the electric vehicle market, the awareness of thermal runaway and potential fires from batteries is increasing simultaneously. IDTechEx's report "Fire Protection Materials for EV Batteries 2024-2034: Markets, Trends, and Forecasts" explores different battery technologies and fire-resistant materials as emerging options for dealing with the risks.

The ability to generate random numbers is essential to encrypting data. However, any classical method of producing randomness will fundamentally be deterministic - and theoretically predictable. This creates an opportunity for non-deterministic, high entropy quantum random number generators (QRNGs). In this article, IDTechEx explores the opportunities and challenges for QRNG in the growing connected devices and quantum communications markets.

IDTechEx have released a brand new episode of the 'Tomorrow's Tech by IDTechEx' podcast, 'Battery Technology: What's The Next Big Breakthrough?'. Host Dr Tess Skyrme and industry expert Dr Alex Holland will be discussing the up-and-coming trends in the upcoming battery landscape.

With ~90% of industrial heating processes using fossil fuels, this has led to approximately 25% of global energy pollution coming from heat produced for industrial processes. As such, demand for technologies to decarbonize industrial heating is expected to increase. One such technology that is able to store and supply heat to industrial processes is thermal energy storage (TES). TES for industrial applications currently only forms a minor percentage of global TES capacity, given that TES systems have been widely deployed in applications such as pairing with concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, district heating, cold chain, and space heating for buildings.

Wednesday 1 May 2024 - Unlocking the Skies: The Promise of eVTOLs and Urban Air Mobility - Introduction to urban air mobility and air taxi services; The different eVTOL aircraft design architectures; Key enabling technologies: batteries / motors / charging infra / composite materials; Market landscape and ongoing projects; Overview of IDTechEx's 20-year outlook for the eVTOL market

Mentre la guida autonoma continua a rivoluzionare l'industria automobilistica, le tecnologie dei sensori hanno registrato progressi senza precedenti. Un'innovazione che spicca è il Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar).

Wednesday 17 April 2024 - An overview of key mining vehicles; Advantages and barriers to electrification; Overview and developments of the electric haul truck market; Analysis of electric haul truck costs and potential savings; IDTechEx's outlook and conclusions

L'informatica dei materiali applica strategie guidate dai dati alla R&S sui materiali. Molto prima che la tecnologia dell'intelligenza artificiale generativa raggiungesse l'apice della popolarità, ha avuto una lunga storia di successi in questo campo. Un approccio comune è quello di utilizzare modelli di apprendimento automatico addestrati su database di strutture e proprietà dei materiali, che poi catturano la relazione sottostante struttura-proprietà

Wednesday 24 April 2024 - What is quantum computing, and what is the state of the industry? How has the industry changed in the last 12 months? How do scalability challenges vary between quantum computing modalities? Which trends can be expected in the quantum computing market in 2024 and beyond? When are some key inflection points anticipated for commercial value creation?

IDTechEx Research announces the availability of a new global market report, "Advanced Li-ion Battery Technologies 2024-2034: Technologies, Players, Forecasts".

Electric vehicles are no longer a niche oddity but fully mainstream, with many automotive manufacturers announcing targets to phase out ICE construction in favor of BEVs (battery electric vehicles). Passenger cars are not the only sectors where electrification is taking off. Medium and heavy-duty haulage, construction, agriculture, and mining are all under pressure to reduce transport-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and going electric is an increasingly attractive solution.

IDTechEx Research, a trusted provider of independent market intelligence, announces the availability of a new global Thermal Management for EV Power Electronics market report, "Thermal Management for EV Power Electronics 2024-2034: Forecasts, Technologies, Markets, and Trends".

Plant feedstocks are the biggest focus of companies entering the emerging alternative leather market. Companies are utilizing a very diverse selection of input feedstocks, including bamboo, grapes, apple skin, cactus, and pineapple leaves. Additionally, there are several different approaches to the incorporation of plant-based materials and the general manufacturing process.

Thursday 18 April 2024 - LiDAR's significance in vehicle autonomy; Introduction to LiDAR working principles; Examination of lidar technology choices and combinations; Shifts in LiDAR technology trend; Factors influencing current LiDAR adoption