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2017

World record thin-film solar cell efficiency of 22.9%

Solar Frontier KK claims it has set a new world record for thin-film solar cell efficiency.

ITO alternatives: printed metal mesh is on the rise?

The transparent conductive film (TCF) industry has witnessed upheaval in recent years.

Tiny drones as artificial pollinators

As bees slip onto the endangered species list in the United States, researchers in Japan are pollinating lilies with insect-sized drones.

2016

New class of fuel cells offer increased flexibility, lower cost

A new class of fuel cells based on a newly discovered polymer-based material could bridge the gap between the operating temperature ranges of two existing types of polymer fuel cells, a breakthrough with the potential to accelerate the commercialization of low-cost fuel cells for automotive and stationary applications.

Turnable, twistable robots

Forget steel and aluminum. The robots of tomorrow may be able to squish, stretch and squeeze.

2015

Boosting efficiency of CIGS solar cells

CIGS solar cells are compound thin-film solar cells and the most established alternative to silicon solar cells. Solar conversion efficiencies of over 20% have recently been achieved in CIGS solar cells.

Meeting of Japan Energy Harvesting Consortium September 25 2015

As energy harvesting becomes a different and much more noticed subject, IDTechEx monitors the situation by intensive visits to many events, companies and universities. The meeting of the Japan Energy Harvesting Consortium September 2015 was certainly revealing.

IDTechEx Presents Printed Electronics Insight Forums. Tokyo 28 Sept.

Two guest speakers from Japan will present at the IDTechEx insight forums in Tokyo on 28 September, providing in-depth analysis into printed electronics. www.IDTechEx.com/PEAsia

High-efficiency and high-stability SiC power transistor

Sumitomo Electric has developed a power transistor of an original structure consisting of silicon carbide which is seen as a next-generation power semiconductor.

Carbon nanotube transparent conductive film with long-term stability

AIST, and others have developed a technology that dramatically improves the long-term stability of the conductivity of transparent conductive films that use carbon nanotubes.

New material could boost batteries' power, help power plants

A team of researchers has developed a material that acts as a superhighway for ions. The material could make batteries more powerful, change how gaseous fuel is turned into liquid fuel and help power plants burn coal and natural gas more efficiently.

Different electric vehicles pioneer best technology first

To benchmark new technology for electric vehicles it is vital to look at all of the off-road, on-road, water and airborne e-vehicles.

IMEC - Wearable Health Monitoring

Imec is a research centre, with headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, and sites in Belgium, the Netherlands, Taiwan, US, China, India and Japan. They work to bridge the gap between research and industry, with more than 75% of their income coming from industry partners.

2014

Thermoelectric harvesting: Great increase in interest in 2014

Thermoelectric harvesting will be on production hybrid electric on-road vehicles from 2018. It will be commonplace on hybrids in 2020 and almost entirely to charge the battery, or increasingly supercapacitor or supercabattery used for power.

KELK

Thermoelectrics have made large 1.5 kW ones for Komatsu and other construction machines and the like, to harvest heat from the diesel engines. The main bar to launching them for sale is cost

Ajinomoto Co Inc

Updates in printed electronics from Japan

IDTechEx recently visited Japan for the FineTech expo in Tokyo. This article summarises the latest findings and updates from Japanese companies in the field of printed electronics.

HSP Technologies, an AIST start-up

HSP Technologies Inc started in 2011 after the proof-of-concepts experiments were successfully demonstrated. The technology was developed at AIST (Tsukuba laboratory in Japan). HSP stands for "High Shear Processing". The company plans to commercialize conductive surface coatings that are strechable.

Printed electronics companies at FineTech Japan

IDTechEx recently visited Japan for the FineTech expo in Tokyo. This article summarises the latest findings and updates from Japanese companies in the field of printed electronics. Here, IDTechEx will discuss trends in metal mesh, in-mould, barriers and OLED materials and production.

Droplet simulation technology for printed electronics

The developed program allows numerical simulation, with the use of a commercial personal computer, of the shapes of ink droplet placed on a flat substrate surface that includes discontinuous boundaries between hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas, whereas such a simulation has been difficult so far.