Research Articles

Smart glasses could create real life subtitles for clearer interactions, while helmets for firefighters or policemen with sensing technology could make high-risk jobs safer. This article explores a future of accessible technologies to bring ease to daily life.

The commercial space industry has taken off in recent years with a surge in launches and exponential growth, creating a need for increased thermal protection systems. This article explores aerobraking as one approach to thermal management for spacecrafts.

Aerogels sit in a crossover between cell-level protection materials, and pack-level protection materials. This article explores how aerogels can perform excellently as both insulators and fire protection materials and are becoming increasingly common in electric vehicles.

Webinar: The Growing Role of Gas Sensors in Battery Pack Systems Date: Thursday 10 July Presenter: Daniel Parr, Technology Analyst, IDTechEx

Extending the lifespan of goods and enhancing safety by limiting the potential for failure of materials prove self-healing materials to be a revolutionary technology. This article explores how self-healing materials could reduce the need for excess maintenance costs with different levels of autonomy.

With plastic production having grown to 502 million tonnes in 2024, while being expected to continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.6%, the need for a sustainable intervention is evident. This article covers the development of biobased plastics from renewable feedstocks as a step towards circularity.

Over 1 in 4 micro vehicles sold in 2023 were electric; quick growth that has not yet been matched by other segments including electric vans and passenger cars. This article covers the global micro EV picture, revealing drivers for the uptake of micro EVs globally.

This article explores the transformative potential of solid-state batteries (SSBs), forecast to be a US$9 billion market by 2035, and provides an in-depth analysis of technological advances, manufacturing progress, commercialization challenges, and global supply chain shifts, particularly in electric vehicle and industrial applications.

Following decades of hype and false dawns, nanocarbons are now beginning to see substantial market adoption and growth. This article delves into the continued growth of the carbon nanotube market, which is set to exceed $1.25 billion by 20235. IDTechEx assesses the key applications driving the growth, and the leading players poised to take a significant market share.

Webinar: Emerging Materials and Decarbonization Applications for Gas Separation Membranes Presenter: Eve Pope, Senior Technology Analyst, IDTechEx Date: Tuesday 24 June Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

IDTechEx explores the impact of the US$1 billion acquisition in the quantum computing industry, where two major computing companies, IonQ and Oxford Ionics, have recently signed a deal.

Faced with rising raw material costs from tariffs, labor shortages, and increasing operational pressures, the automotive and material-handling industries are turning to collaborative robots (cobots) as a flexible, cost-saving solution to boost efficiency, reduce downtime, and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape.

Webinar Title: Carbon Nanotubes: On the Path to Commercial Success Date: Thursday 19 June 2025 Presenter: Dr Conor O'Brien, Senior Technology Analyst, IDTechEx Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

Ion exchange membranes are emerging as critical materials in the transition to green energy. Emerging applications in hydrogen fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and redox flow batteries are expected to drive significant market growth through 2035.

In this article, IDTechEx analyzes two of the specialized materials needed in a fusion reactor: the plasma facing material and the breeder blanket. Their requirements, the critical raw materials needed, and possible disruptors to their supply chain are discussed, along with a market outlook for the fusion industry.

The article highlights the rapid growth of the humanoid robot market through 2035, emphasizing a projected $10 billion opportunity in sensory components, especially tactile sensors, LiDAR, and cameras, as demand for dexterous and spatially aware robots increases

Key applications, both mature and emerging, for gas separation membranes include biogas upgrading, natural gas processing, carbon capture, and hydrogen separation. As gas separation membrane markets grow, start-ups seek to commercialize new membrane materials and composite structures.

Emerging non-volatile memory technologies are finding commercial traction not by replacing DRAM or NAND, but by solving real scaling and performance challenges in embedded systems. IDTechEx explores how MRAM, ReRAM, and others are becoming key enablers for next-generation automotive, IoT, and AI edge devices.

Webinar: Unlock the Future of Materials R&D: How Materials Informatics is Revolutionizing Innovation Date: Wednesday 11 June 2025 Approximately 30 minutes Multiple sessions available

The aerogel market for energy and industrial applications has seen modest growth over the years, growing from US$224M in 2021 to an estimated US$348M in 2025. With increasing focus on energy savings and process efficiencies, this article by IDTechEx looks at how the aerogels market for energy and industrial applications will evolve over the next decade.

Surging battery demand is creating significant opportunities for raw material suppliers, particularly those adapting to battery-specific needs. Along the battery value chain, players are increasingly pursuing vertical integration strategies to capture greater value.

Lithium-ion batteries are a growing technology worldwide in line with the demand for electricity and regulations to lower emissions.

Webinar Title: Humanoid Robots: Early Adopters, Technologies, Challenges and Outlook Date: Tuesday 3 June 2025 Presenter: Yulin Wang, Senior Technology Analyst, IDTechEx

Self-healing materials have the ability to extend the lifespan of mission critical components such as energy storage devices, sensors and soft robotics. This article looks at some of the key materials developments, pain points and potential growth opportunities for self-healing materials in these emerging markets.

Humanoid and collaborative robots are two growing robotics technologies explored by IDTechEx in their portfolio of Robotics & Autonomy Research Reports. Senior Technology Analyst, Yulin Wang, will be speaking at the 2025 Humanoids Summit, covering details explored in depth in the IDTechEx report, "Humanoid Robots 2025-2035: Technologies, Markets and Opportunities".

Sodium-ion batteries offer a promising alternative to lithium-ion, with advantages in mineral abundance, system compatibility, and safety. They provide a cost-effective, scalable solution with lower material costs and reduced supply chain risks. Despite lower energy density, sodium-ion cells benefit from existing manufacturing infrastructure. Safety benefits include reduced fire risks and enhanced thermal stability. Key strategies for success include improving energy densities, competing on total cost of ownership, and targeting niche performance areas such as low temperature and high-power applications.

In-cabin sensing innovations from Tesla, Seeing Machines, and LG Electronics—leveraging radar, 3d cameras, and AI—are transforming vehicle safety and personalization, setting the stage for a US$6 billion market by 2035.

Thursday 5 June 2025 - AI Chips: Energy Consumption Concerns of Large AI Models, GPU Technologies, and the Shift to Custom Silicon; Demand and concerns about large AI models; Current trends in high-performance GPUs; Shift towards cloud service providers (CSPs) using custom silicon in AI data centers; Insights into IDTechEx's 10-year forecasts for the AI Chips market

Showcased by the surprise of surrounding workers, the unexpected actions of a humanoid robot in China demonstrates that this robotics application is still operating in early stages. However, despite being an immature technology, there is still much scope for success for humanoids.

Materials informatics is reshaping the landscape of materials research and development, bringing the full power of the data revolution to science and engineering. By leveraging AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics, materials informatics is accelerating discovery, streamlining development, and opening entirely new pathways for innovation.

Carbon capture technologies are mature and have existed for decades, but with the expense that comes with deploying them, there is little incentive for businesses to adopt them outside of carbon pricing regulations or tax incentives. CO2 utilization makes carbon capture viable outside of climate motivations because it allows the process to generate revenue.

While China is currently the leader in electric two-wheeler sales globally, this article highlights the key factors that will lead to India taking its place and becoming the next global superpower within the industry.

Fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) offer a new opportunity for the transport sector to significantly reduce emissions, with only water vapor being produced as a result of their operation.

In this article, IDTechEx examines the impact of three major trends; one technology-focused, one regional, and one macroeconomic - on metal additive manufacturing. These trends include the dominance of powder bed fusion, the story of the Chinese metal AM market, and the impact of tariffs.

Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence, which refers to the process of computers drawing conclusions from a dataset, which can be a powerful tool across various sectors, including the battery market.

Wednesday 4 June 2025 - How to Bottle a Star: IDTechEx Explores Commercial Fusion Energy; Review of the principles of fusion energy and the drivers behind the industry's rapid growth; Technical overview of the fusion energy market landscape; Analysis of the leading approaches to achieving commercial fusion; Discussion of the critical materials for fusion and the challenges for the supply chain of key components.