IDTechEx

Disorder-Engineered Inorganic Crystals Set Record for Ultrathin Solar

Displayed over roof tops and in solar farms, silicon-based solar cells are, so far, one of the most efficient systems in generating electricity from sunlight, but their fabrication can be expensive and energy demanding, aside from being heavy and bulky. The alternative solution of lower-cost thin film solar cells also brings the caveat of being mainly composed of toxic elements such as lead or cadmium, or containing scarce elements such as indium or tellurium.

'Bionic' Pacemaker Reverses Heart Failure

A revolutionary pacemaker that re-establishes the heart's naturally irregular beat is set to be trialled in New Zealand heart patients this year.

Breakthrough Clears Path for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Growing demand for electric vehicles has shed light on the significant challenge of sustainably sourcing the battery technology necessary for the broad shift to renewable electric and away from fossil fuels. In hopes of making batteries that not only perform better than those currently used in EVs, but also are made from readily available materials, a group of chemical engineers have found a way to introduce sulfur into lithium-ion batteries - with astounding results.

ASCA Acquires Largest Intellection Property Portfolio for Printed PVs

ASCA has purchased the most relevant device- and module-related intellectual property portfolio regarding printed OPV. At the end of 2021, ASCA took patents on OPV production and technology from the Darmstadt, Germany-based leading science and technology company Merck. With this purchase, ASCA has become the largest portfolio owner with regard to printed OPV worldwide through tripling its number of patents.

Addoptics

Addoptics is a Rotterdam-based company that uses 3D printed molds to produce cast resin reflective and refractive optics. This process enables complex optic geometries, allows quick turnarounds for prototyping and is scalable to small production runs.

Fuel Cells Are Not the Problem, the Hydrogen Fuel Is

On the face of it, 2021 was a good year for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) in passenger car markets. Toyota, with their second generation Mirai FCEV, and Hyundai, with their NEXO FCEV, both had record sales, which largely made up for Honda announcing in June 2021 that it had decided to pull the plug on production of their Honda Clarity FCV (citing the lack of hydrogen infrastructure and weak demand).

Robots That can Check Your Blood Pressure

Empowering small, humanoid-sensing robots to take a patient's blood pressure—using only a simple touch—is a researcher's health care technology development.

Paving the Way for Skin-Compatible Sensors for Health Monitoring

Wearable electronic devices, particularly sensors designed to recover bioinformation - body temperature, blood pressure, respiratory patterns, etc. - have become an increasingly important research subject. No matter the intended use of a portable health monitoring system, one key challenge is the delivery of the wearable sensor itself; a hard, inflexible, uncomfortable sensor is less effective simply because the user may not be willing or able wear it for extended periods of time.

Researchers Control Mammalian Cells with Sound

Scientists have engineered mammalian cells to be activated using ultrasound. The method, which the team used to activate human cells in a dish and brain cells inside living mice, paves the way toward non-invasive versions of deep brain stimulation, pacemakers and insulin pumps.

CENS Materials

CENS Materials are developing a CNT product for use in Li-ion battery electrodes. IDTechEx caught up with CEO Moshe Johary.

First Cross-Border Renewal Energy Project Between Mexico and USA

The Phase II expansion of ESJ added 26 new wind turbines with a total incremental capacity of 108 MW. The increased production is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of over 180,000 homes and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 170,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Flexible and Stretchy Supercapacitors Could Boost Battery Life for IoT

Smartwatches, fitness trackers and other Internet of Things devices could get a significant boost to their "battery" life thanks to new, environmentally friendly energy research.

Project Triumph TE-1 Prototype Revealed

Project Triumph TE-1 has been revealed in completed prototype form. The unique collaboration between Triumph Motorcycles, Williams Advanced Engineering, Integral Powertrain Ltd, and WMG at the University of Warwick funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles through Innovate UK, was set up to create ground-breaking developments in specialist electric motorcycle engineering and innovative integrated technology design.

Quorn to Investigate Decarbonised Production Using Green Hydrogen

Protium, the UK‐based green hydrogen energy services company, and its consortium partner, Petrofac, will explore the deployment of green hydrogen technology with meat-free pioneer Quorn.

Wearable Robotic Technologies to Reduce Fatigue, Improve Ergonomics

Comau and IUVO are developing an innovative wearable robotics solution to improve the ergonomics of operators engaged in manually moving loads at Esselunga, a leading large-scale retail trade company.

Stena Recycling's Major Investment in Battery Recycling

The Swedish Energy Agency gives Stena Recycling SEK 70.7 million in support for the investment in a new battery recycling plant in Halmstad. Stena Recycling's target is to become one of Europe's leading players in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

Beyond Lithium: Search for Materials for Calcium-Ion Batteries

Electric cars are the future; they will help reduce air pollution and end our dependence on fossil fuels. However, there is one glaring problem with this potentially disruptive technology: the availability of sufficient lithium to produce all these car batteries.

Homebuilder Launches Pioneering Net-Zero Carbon Emitting Housing

Sixteen houses fully powered by renewable sources and smart technology will be built in the village of Calthwaite by successful Cumbria-based housebuilder Genesis Homes as part of its EcoGen project.

Snow Lake Lithium to Develop World's First All Electric Lithium Mine

With demand for electric vehicles growing rapidly, the global automotive and energy storage industries will be competing to access raw materials, especially lithium, that are a crucial component of batteries.

Partnership to Build an Integrated Sustainable Fuels Plant

This partnership will utilize carbon capture and sequestration, renewable energy, and other innovative practices to bring lower-cost, low carbon-intensity sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, and other sustainable hydrocarbons to the global market and help accelerate the decarbonization of various industries, including the tough to decarbonize aviation sector.