Research Articles

Despite the impact of Covid-19, substantial volumes of Li-ion batteries will soon be reaching their end-of-life. IDTechEx highlight the importance of Li-ion recycling and discuss what will drive growth in the market.

Flexible Hybrid Electronics: Conforming to the Market - Overview of latest market forecast and key trends; technology benchmarking and new entrant analysis; and analysis of technological transitions and associated innovation opportunities.

Global agriculture is facing some serious challenges over the next century, with decades of reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides beginning to take their toll. IDTechEx discusses how agricultural biologicals could be part of the solution to these challenges.

Sensors in the water and wastewater treatment industries are an emerging technology market area, forecast to grow to $2Bn+ in 2030. IDTechEx has analyzed this market in its new report "Sensors in the Water and Wastewater treatment industries 2020-2030".

Electric vehicles are expected to include solid-state batteries as an innovative approach, according to IDTechEx's research report "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2020-2030: Technology, Patents, Forecasts, Players".

The electricity grid is undergoing its first evolution since the invention of the power transmission system, and energy storage devices, particularly mechanical energy storage devices, will play a solid role in this evolution.

As IDTechEx predicted in its report, "Robot Shuttles and Autonomous Buses 2020-2040", robot shuttles are converging with robotaxis.

In 2018, China enacted its "National Sword" policy, effectively banning the import of most waste plastics and materials heading for the nation's recycling processors in an attempt to stop the wave of soiled and contaminated materials that were overwhelming the country's processing facilities and threatening it with a major environmental problem.

Traction batteries and motors in electric vehicles (EVs) are very different to the powertrain components of the internal-combustion engine vehicles they replace.

Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly.

Materials informatics is quickly becoming one of the most significant areas of interest for chemical and material companies.

Wednesday 16 September 2020 - Seeing Is Believing: The Truth Behind the Optics and Displays of AR/MR/VR. Why do optics and displays Matter? What are the key properties in choosing an optical set-up? What are the key properties in choosing a micro-display? Where are these markets going in the next decade?

What do you now purchase by the kilowatt hour? The new supercapacitors replacing batteries. The new IDTechEx report, "Supercapacitor Markets, Technology Roadmap, Opportunities 2021-2041", shows how supercapacitors have started to replace 10% of lithium-ion batteries and help kill lead-acid.

The new IDTechEx report, "Optics and Displays in AR, VR, and MR 2020-2030: Technologies, Players and Markets", covers the complete range of optics and display technologies which are used in spatial reality products.

IDTechEx currently have a number of electric vehicle related webinars available to watch on-demand. These include presentations on electric cars; electric boats and ships; thermal management; autonomous driving; and EV charging.

In its recently published report "Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030: Technologies, Players & Markets", IDTechEx reports that the robotic surgery market will reach over $12 billion by 2030. The report breaks down the market landscape and emerging technologies in the field of robotic surgery.

Thursday 10 September - Join the webinar "Do Patents Highlight the Way Forward for Li-ion Batteries?", presented by IDTechEx Technology Analyst, Dr Alex Holland. There are 3 sessions to choose from (2am, 10am and 5pm BST).

The battery industry has experienced enormous innovation and investment with the demand mainly from electric vehicles and energy storage systems. The 1,500 GWh market demand in 2030 indicates huge potential for batteries.

Supercapacitors Turn the Corner - Supercapacitors and their variants have recently seen customer commitment to multibillion-dollar opportunities that were previously beyond their reach. Consider large peak-shaving ones for hybrid cars where the Geely orders will soon be followed by others.

Growth in the Li-ion market means significant investments are now being made into building out capacity for manufacturing Li-ion batteries and their components and as the demand for Li-ion batteries grow, so too does the importance of performance and cost improvements.

Electric ships have some of the largest individual batteries of any electric vehicle sector; below is a list of the largest projects IDTechEx have been tracking.

Metal additive manufacturing has seen many trends over recent years including pushing the (build) envelope & deposition rate to higher levels, broadening the materials portfolio, and expanding into new markets. One trend that cannot be overlooked is the number of product launches for low-cost "desktop" variants; the question is will they be successful?

Augmented reality and mixed reality are being used more and more in hospitals by doctors and healthcare professionals to provide them with a hands-free working environment, greater flexibility with overlaying information and processing information from its camera.

IDTechEx have released a new research report, "Skin Sensors 2020- 2030: Technologies, Markets, Players, Forecasts".

Mention an electronic circuit and you are likely to picture a printed circuit board (PCB): a rigid rectangle in a characteristic green color with copper lines and a bewildering array of components soldered onto it. But does adding electronic functionality means using a PCB and thus requires shoehorning a rigid rectangle into the product?

Thursday 20 August 2020 - Metal Additive Manufacturing: Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Gain - This webinar includes: Overview of latest market forecast and key trends; Technology benchmarking and new entrant analysis; Latest in material considerations and supply chain progressions; and Deep-dive into relevant sectors and the impact of COVID-19.

Dr Nadia Tsao and Raghu Das share some of the research from the new IDTechEx report, "Skin Sensors 2020- 2030: Technologies, Markets, Players, Forecasts", www.IDTechEx.com/SkinSensors

With an increase in temperature, there is an increase in demand for tap water. One area which is affected is the South West Water network, with water shortages across Sussex and up to 300 households left without tap water for five days. But could this have been averted? Yes - it could.

The new IDTechEx report, "Sensors 2021-2041" uniquely analyses the whole subject in the light of such seismic changes as the COVID-19 virus. The sensor business is in turmoil. The industries that spend most on sensors are changing as are the sensors.

The metal additive manufacturing market will be negatively impacted by the 2020 pandemic. Despite this short-to-mid-term setback, the industry is forecast to rise and exceed $10Bn within the next 10-years. The emerging and established printer players grab nearly all of the headlines, but most of this forecast annual revenue will be in material sales in which there is great untapped potential.

In the past two decades, the car market has declined twice: first due to the 2008 economic crisis, and then due to falling sales in China. Most recently, the lockdowns implemented to combat the coronavirus pandemic, causing auto-production plants to close globally and a loss of consumer spending will lead to an unprecedented 23% decline in 2020 (IDTechEx prediction).

It is often imagined that agriculture is alien to new technologies. This is far from reality. In fact, agriculture has always been a pioneer in the adoption of new technologies, embracing motor/power, modified seed, and agrochemical technologies over many decades to boost productivity.

Nearly every sector is proposing the use of artificial intelligence. Materials science R&D is relatively late to this trend, and there are many industry-specific hurdles, but the opportunities are beginning to be realized and the potential impact is significant.

Tuesday 11 August - The electric car market is facing fresh, unforeseen challenges in 2020, and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, electric vehicles with a higher upfront price are a hard sell. How is the industry, and how are governments, responding? Are electric cars de-railed from their pre-coronavirus trajectory?

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are considered by the most, as two competing technologies. Although both technologies power an electric motor, they have different properties and each of them is well suited for some uses more than others.

Join Dr Peter Harrop in his latest presentation on Electric Vehicles in Construction, Agriculture & Mining, a $100 Billion Market Soon.