Research Articles

The impact of machine learning and data science techniques on the materials industry has grown exponentially since IDTechEx started covering the field of materials informatics in 2020, impacting the real world from lightweight alloys to new battery chemistries.

Thursday 30 May 2024 - Photonic Integrated Circuits: Materials, Forecasts, and How AI Accelerator Demand Is Affecting the PIC Market - What is a photonic integrated circuit? What are current and future applications for PICs? An insight into IDTechEx's Total PIC Market Forecasts; How AI accelerator demand is affecting the PIC Transceivers market; The roadmap for the future of Datacom Transceivers; PIC Material Benchmarks and Forecasts

The modern world depends heavily on GPS satellites to navigate, but too often, access to them is lost or even jammed. This creates a significant risk to safety in multiple industries — especially aerospace, but also automotive and consumer electronics. Following the world's first successful flight demonstration of quantum navigation technology in May 2024 by BAE, QinetiQ, and Infleqtion, this article outlines the power of quantum sensors.

Construction, agriculture, and mining (CAM) machine OEMs have recently started their electrification journey. Over the next 10 years, IDTechEx predicts strong growth in this market, driven by the falling price of batteries and the total cost of ownership benefits that electric machines provide. As such, a new battery market will be created, one that IDTechEx's new "Battery Markets in Construction, Agriculture & Mining Machines 2024-2034" report finds will grow to a value of US$7.8 billion at a 10-year CAGR of 27.1% and with an annual demand of more than 50GWh in 2034.

IDTechEx have released a brand new episode of the 'Tomorrow's Tech by IDTechEx' podcast, 'Quantum Computing: Is It the Space Race of the Modern Age?'. Host Shazan Siddiqi and industry expert Dr Tess Skyrme will be discussing the up-and-coming trends in the upcoming quantum landscape.

The inception of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) dates back to 2016 when Uber introduced their Elevate conference. The company that changed ground transportation triggered a huge wave of investment by supporting the future of Advanced Air Mobility. More than 300 new electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturing start-ups were established over the course of the following few years, each grabbing a piece of the US$8.5 billion in funding that has been poured into the industry as of the end of 2023.

IDTechEx, a trusted provider of independent market intelligence, have released a new market report, "Optical & Radio Frequency Metamaterials 2024-2034: Markets, Players, Technologies". The report forecasts the electromagnetic metamaterials market to approach US$15 Billion by 2034.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will be needed to reach any international net zero emission targets and avoid global warming beyond 1.5-2°C. Negative emissions technologies (NETs), especially those that go beyond nature-based approaches to provide long-lasting scalable CO2 removals, have therefore been receiving increased support through government policy and voluntary carbon credit purchases from corporations with ambitious climate goals.

Electrification, autonomy, and vehicle ownership saturation are causing a technological revolution in the automotive sector. These automotive meta-trends are driving drastic changes in electronic component requirements and present a high-volume opportunity for printed electronics to capitalize on.

Sodium-ion batteries are beginning to become increasingly relevant in 2024 after many mass production announcements were made in 2023. OEMs may look to alternative chemistries to reduce reliance on critical minerals with potentially volatile supply chains. NMC(A) batteries are currently the leading battery chemistry in Europe and the UK, while LFP dominates in China.

Thursday 23 May 2024 - An overview of metal-organic frameworks and their emerging applications; Scaling MOF production for industrial applications; Considerations of production cost and selling price of MOFs; Examples of MOF-based point source carbon capture and direct air capture solutions and comparisons with incumbent technology; Outlook for MOFs in carbon capture including opportunities and challenges

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, sensor technologies have emerged as a pivotal force driving innovations in the automotive industry. Among these, three-dimensional (3D) Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) stands out, offering precise mapping capabilities through laser-based remote sensing.

Could video games and online shopping be possible while the car is on the move? Automotive displays, a market set to be worth US$27 billion by 2034, are a large feature within a vehicle and can act as a hub point for controls and information.

The Silicon Photonics and PICs market is experiencing robust growth, driven by the surge in AI and datacom transceiver demand. Key players in the industry, such as Intel, Coherent, and Infinera, are actively using PICs within their transceivers.

Wednesday 15 May 2024 - Next generation anode materials such as silicon, lithium and anode-free designs; Innovations in cathode active materials and their manufacture; Important cell and pack design changes and trends; Key cost and resource consideration from advanced Li-ion battery chemistries; IDTechEx's outlook for advanced Li-ion technology

Electrification of cars, buses, and trucks drastically reduces CO2 emissions at the point of use compared to a diesel or petrol alternative. The adoption of EVs across all sectors, with IDTechEx predicting over 180 million electric vehicles to be sold annually by 2044. This will contribute to a drastic reduction in tailpipe emissions.

Thursday 16 May 2024 - An overview of 3D electronics including electronics on 3D surfaces, in-mold electronics and fully additive electronics; Technology benchmarking on conventional and emerging metallization methods; Discussion of the status, challenges and opportunities across the whole 3D electronics industry; Market opportunities and outlook

Sensors act as a middle ground between the physical and digital. They measure all sorts of variables from touch, temperature, and heart rate across many different sectors, which IDTechEx's report "Printed and Flexible Sensors 2024-2034: Technologies, Players, Markets" explores in detail. As technology continues to become streamlined and autonomous, there is a great demand for multi-functionality and seamlessness, meaning a high demand for sensors that can be printed and applied to flexible surfaces. IDTechEx explores the main sectors where this technology is in most demand.

Fresh city air and guilt-free online shopping could be two benefits of electric and fuel cell trucks. With the growth of environmental awareness and the hydrogen economy, zero- and low-emission trucks could see larger-scale adoption over the next decade.

In-car payments and cars that communicate are becoming possible with software-defined vehicles (SDVs), enhancing experiences within the car. Cars are becoming not just a means to travel but a base that uses smart qualities to integrate work and lifestyle into the vehicle.

Future connected vehicles will offer future drivers a safer, smoother, and more convenient driving experience. Not only will drivers get access to more navigation and entertainment options, but they will also gain access to safety technologies that will potentially reduce accidents, improve congestion, and reduce emissions globally by allowing vehicle safety systems to communicate with each other and with city traffic infrastructure.

IDTechEx, a trusted provider of independent market intelligence, have released a new market report, "Chemical Recycling and Dissolution of Plastics 2024-2034: Technologies, Players, Markets, Forecasts". The report forecasts advanced recycling plants will recycle over 17 million tpa of plastic waste by 2034.

Wednesday 29 May 2024 - Introduction to the basics of the quantum technology market; Why now for a quantum space-race?; Quantum computing: what is it, and which industries are already being impacted today?; Quantum sensing: how could trends in future mobility unlock the markets full potential?; Quantum communications: why now is the time to engage to truly protect high-value data-sets.

Over the last three to four years, the driverless robotaxi industry has begun to flourish. Driverless services are coming online in multiple cities across the US and China. IDTechEx's recent report, "Future Automotive Technologies 2024-2034: Applications, Megatrends, Forecasts", predicts that the driverless robotaxi industry will be generating over US$470 billion annually through services in 2034.

As the volume of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources penetrating electricity grids increases globally, so does the need to manage the increasing uncertainty and variability in electricity supply. Long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies will be key in supporting electricity grids with greater penetrations of VRE over the coming decades. However, while many of the LDES technologies are likely to be cheaper than Li-ion batteries, on a US$/kWh basis at longer durations of storage, they will need to generate revenues from multiple sources in order to be profitable.

Wearable technology could increase safety in sport and decrease stress with red-light therapy. Wearables is a market covering a wide range of applications, from health and wellness, smart mouthguards, to virtual reality headsets, and offers many benefits to different technology sectors.

With the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market and a focus on the importance of safety, EV fire protection brings a large opportunity for material suppliers. In this article by Dr James Edmondson, Research Director here at IDTechEx, we share some of these opportunities including those outside of the automotive market, along with some challenges for material suppliers in this space and findings from recent industry events.

IDTechEx, a trusted provider of independent market intelligence, announces the availability of a new market report, "Battery Markets in Construction, Agriculture & Mining Machines 2024-2034". The report forecasts battery demand for off-highway industries will be worth nearly US$8 billion in 2034.

Wednesday 8 May 2024 - Advanced Thermal Management in EV Power Electronics; A high-level examination of the conventional thermal framework in EV power electronics alongside projections for future structures; Analysis of trends of die-attach and substrate-attach materials; Trends in Thermal Interface Materials (TIM) and an assessment of commercially available TIMs tailored for power electronics; Comparison of single and double-sided cooling, alongside emerging trends and commercial applications

The quantum technology market leverages nano-scale physics to create revolutionary new devices for computing, sensing, and communications. Across the industry, quantum technology offers a paradigm shift in performance compared with incumbent solutions. In this article, IDTechEx provides an overview of the insights on offer in the recently published report, "Quantum Technology Market 2024-2034: Trends, Players, Forecasts".

Thursday 9 May 2024 - Demand and key drivers for industrial thermal energy storage; Thermal energy storage technology overview including working principles, technology considerations (cost, materials, round-trip efficiency, etc.), ETES, TCES, and commercial readiness of these technologies; Key existing and emerging thermal energy storage applications; Market overview and key projects; IDTechEx's outlook and conclusions

Trains that could travel to more tucked-away parts of the country with zero emissions are an example of the potential behind battery electric (BEV) and fuel cell (FC) trains. The benefits to the environment, alongside businesses removing long-term fuel costs, could make this advancement even more worthwhile.

Flexible and printed electronics can be integrated into cars and homes to create modern aesthetics that are beneficial and easy to use. From luminous car controls to food labels that communicate the quality of food, the uses of this technology are endless and can upgrade many areas of everyday life.

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) has prevailed as the most widely deployed and commercialized RFB chemistry over the last decade; despite this, the volume of their installations for stationary energy storage applications is still minimal compared to the incumbent Li-ion battery, but is this set to change?

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of materials with exceptionally high porosity and surface area (up to 7000m2/g). The design flexibility and structural versatility afforded by MOFs have attracted widespread interest in numerous applications, albeit with several unsuccessful attempts to commercialize the materials historically.

This new carbon dioxide removal report from IDTechEx offers these interested parties a comprehensive outlook of the emerging CDR industry and carbon credit markets, with an in-depth analysis of the technological, economic, regulatory, and environmental aspects shaping this market.