Research Articles

23rd July 2020 - The webinar includes: An overview of the state of plastic recycling; An introduction to the emerging technologies across the world of plastic recycling; and A discussion of the economics of plastic recycling technologies in view of global oil prices.

A short (8min) presentation on how "New Materials Make Supercapacitors Better than Batteries", sharing some of the research from the new IDTechEx report, "Supercapacitor Materials and Formats 2020-2040".

Robotics, automotive, energy and healthcare. Interview with Dr Peter Harrop on his new report: Sensors 2021-2041

Battery technology is experiencing enormous investment as organizations race to meet the demand of over 1,500 GWh needed in 2030 for electric vehicles, residential and grid applications.

This webinar from IDTechEx will provide - A technical introduction to the field, A discussion as to why now?, An overview of key players and developments, Key commercial outlooks, Critical appraisal of strategic direction available to industrial users, and Success stories.

This webinar provides insight into the industry's evolution, and will cover: Drivers for the transition to electric buses, Challenges to bus electrification, The history and future of bus electrification in key regions, The outlook for battery electric buses, plug-in hybrid buses and fuel cell electric buses, and The background to IDTechEx's new granular forecasts for the electric city bus market.

There are many solar markets only accessible with technologies beyond silicon. They include transparent and flexible film solar, underwater and indoor solar. Consider lightweight photovoltaic film on the sides of buildings that cannot support heavy glass. Film retrofits on buses and boats to boost range.

Learn about electronics as smart materials bypassing the traditional industry.

Cars electrify, now farm vehicles. The new 215-page IDTechEx report, "Electric Vehicles and Robotics in Agriculture 2020-2030" explains. This is a drill-down from the popular report, "Electric Vehicles in Construction, Agriculture and Mining 2020-2030".

In-Mold Electronics (IME) is a process that combines printed electronics with 3D forming and molding to create 3D objects with embedded electronics. The electronics can include interconnects, sensors, rigid IC or LEDs, optical waveguides, and so on.

In July 2020, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology announced a standardised UK system for detecting coronavirus in wastewater, to provide an early warning of future outbreaks, reducing the reliance of testing large populations.

This webinar will help to clarify the real market opportunities for 5G from different perspectives, including: User equipment adoption, 5G station deployment, Active antennas, New trend in RF components, Materials challenges,and Emerging use cases

This webinar will provide an introduction to Li-ion recycling, covering the following key areas: Overview of recycling processes, Discussion of the value proposition of recycling, Analysis of 2nd-life vs recycling, and Look at the current Li-ion recycling market

This article highlights some key material development trends. More specifically, approaches to increase the thermal conductivity (in W/mK) of TIMs are considered. This is an important trend because the IDTechEx assessment is that the market, in absolute terms, for high or ultrahigh thermal conductivity TIM materials, will inevitably rise.

The new IDTechEx report, "Materials Opportunities in Emerging Photovoltaics 2020-2040", is based on interviews by multi-lingual, PhD level IDTechEx analysts across the world and 20 years tracking the research and applications. They predict $38 billion dollars in 2040 without colliding with the silicon-in-glass "power station" business. There will be many opportunities for premium pricing of its new specialist materials.

IDTechEx reports that the robotic surgery market will reach over $12 billion by 2030. Within this industry catheter navigation is an emerging, but lesser known application, that is rapidly gaining traction. IDTechEx's findings are detailed in the recently published report "Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030: Technologies, Players & Markets".

IDTechEx CEO, Raghu Das & Technology Analysts, Dr Alex Holland & Dr Na Jiao, discuss Lithium-ion battery recycling and the current market.

Last week, Apple announced the latest features that will be added to the Apple Watch in watchOS 7. Amongst the range of updates were a series of new health app features, including new "mobility metrics" such as low-range cardio fitness, walking speed, stair-descent speed, stair-ascent speed, six-minute walk distance, double support time, step length, and asymmetry.

The conductive ink market is diverse. This is shown in the schematic below, showing the commercialization status of diverse spectrum applications. This diversity is both a blessing and a curse.

In this webinar, Technology Analyst Dr Michael Dent will present an overview of IDTechEx's recent research into the crop biotechnology industry, focusing on the potential of genome editing to revolutionise the field.

The bus market is at a crossroads. The pressing need for cities around the world to improve air quality, alongside commitments by many governments to address climate change, are powering plans to deliver zero on-road emission city bus fleet solutions. Over the next decade these efforts will see major cities increasingly refuse to purchase anything but zero-emission buses, as they deliver on promised zero-emission zones to protect the health of their citizens.

The drivetrain of an electric vehicle is, in theory, much simpler than a combustion vehicle. Despite this, many electric vehicle contain several different coolant fluids. Is this optimal or a remnant from legacy systems?

IDTechEx CEO, Raghu Das & Technology Analyst, Luke Gear, discuss the passenger car market and the outlook in light of COVID-19.

The 5G market is expanding rapidly, with the first installations already being demonstrated. The increasing deployment of 5G will generate innovation and growth opportunities in thermal management.

Thermal management of batteries for electric vehicles is a crucial issue. It is important not only for safety and thermal runaway prevention, but also for the performance and longevity of the battery.

A Revolution in Affordable Ultra-Precision? The developments in agricultural robotics, machine vision, and AI will drive a deep and far-reaching transformation of the way farming is carried out.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the automotive industry has been hit hard by shutdowns of factories and sales around the world. The pandemic has slowed down global car sales and is shifting consumer behaviours in travel. Over the long term, COVID-19 could have a lasting impact on the mobility landscape.

Which Is Better for the Environment? In recent years, plastic production has accelerated, with global plastic set production to reach 600 million tonnes by 2030 if production continues at its current rate of growth. Most of this plastic is not biodegradable, with 30-50% of it being produced for single-use applications.

In the next decade, digital water technologies will be the next big innovation. With an industry predicted to be over $2Bn in 2030, this is a wide-reaching opportunity for many and a market which has a global impact.

Humans have been manipulating the DNA of the organisms around us in agriculture for thousands of years, using selective breeding to create sweeter fruit, hardier grains, cows that produce more milk, and many more valuable traits.

Fuel cells able to convert hydrogen into electricity are called to play an important role in the energy transition towards a future with zero-emissions.

Picture a flexible circuit board (FPCB) and you will almost inevitably visualise a sheet of orange/brown plastic, probably with a few copper traces and maybe some soldered components on it. This plastic is PI (polyimide/Kapton), and its ubiquity is primarily due to its temperature resistance and general durability.

Materials suppliers need to appraise opportunities at all power levels of energy harvesting. Those developing, making and using harvesters providing microwatts to GW need to see the big picture and how they can expand into it.

A recent article by IDTechEx Principal Analyst, James Hayward, written on the need to update e-textiles' traditional mantra which implies that "technology + comfort = success".

By 2030, $20Bn of the AR/VR market are expected to be standalone-AR devices. As a result, will augmented reality become the next leader for sports metrics?

2019 saw the largest single year growth rate for wearable technology product revenue since 2015