Research Articles

Three years after 5G was officially commercialized, while most of the deployments are primarily focused on 5G mid-band, the development of 5G mmWave technology has also been underway. 5G mmWave, operating in high-frequency bands between 24-100 GHz, offers faster data transfer rates, low latency, and higher bandwidth compared to the previous wireless technology.

Thursday 13 April 2023 - This webinar will explore these lessons in depth through discussions on; Market trends across key applications for e-textiles; Manufacturing methods and how materials choice for e-textiles have evolved over the years; Examples from notable relevant companies; A review of the current state of the e-textiles market; Potential opportunities and challenges for the industry

Depending on the technology being talked about, there are already solid-state batteries being commercialized and they could enable a US$8 billion dollar business opportunity in 2033, according to IDTechEx's report "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2023-2033: Technology, Forecasts, Players".

Bipolar plates form the backbone of proton exchange fuel cells and consequently capture a significant portion of the fuel cell stack value, with IDTechEx forecasting their market value to exceed US$2.4 bn by 2033.

Asked whether electronics is a 'digital technology', almost everyone would reply in the affirmative. However, while printed circuit boards (PCBs) enable digital technologies, the manufacturing processes used to produce them are still largely analog.

Wearable technology is threatening to disrupt aspects of the pharmaceutical industry, with the latest technology offering a drug-free alternative to health management. But which of these competing wearable technologies are the promising candidates to lead the healthcare revolution?

The RFID business continues to grow. The global RFID market is anticipated to continue to grow in 2023, with IDTechEx projecting a market value of US$14 billion in 2023, up from US$12.8 billion in 2022. This market value comprises of RFID labels, cards, fobs, and other form factors, as well as tags, scanners, and software/services for inactive and active RFID.

As electric vehicle (EV) power electronics undergoes a paradigm shift towards wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors, it is clear that silicon carbide (SiC) is becoming the material of choice, while gallium nitride (GaN) is often shoe-boxed into telecommunications or optoelectronics applications.

When thinking of the applications of low-loss materials in 5G devices, the first that comes to mind for most is 5G smartphones. After all, low-loss materials are integral in enabling advanced 5G antennas-in-packages (AiP) for smartphones, and high-profile smartphone manufacturers like Apple have gone back and forth about which low-loss material they chose for their 5G antennas in their flagship phones like the iPhone.

Thermal Interface Material (TIM) plays an important role in power electronics, computing processors, sensors, and energy storage devices. TIMs are the materials used to fill the void between heat sources and heat sinks to enhance heat transfer.

Refractive lenses are an 800-year-old technology that has stood the test of time. Glasses, cameras, and microscopy are all applications that rely on lenses to redirect light by varying the optical path through a curved piece of glass or plastic. However, the underlying architecture of lenses may be about to change.

Thursday 6 April 2023 - What Are the Latest Market Developments? This webinar will cover: Li-ion battery circular economy and second-life EV battery value chain; Regulatory landscape overview; Introduction to technology trends, remanufacturing considerations, and market barriers; Overview of battery testing and modeling approaches; Key repurposing player activity

Electronic skin patches have made remarkable progress in the field of healthcare. These wearable electronic devices feature adhesive pads designed to be worn directly on the skin, enabling convenient and non-invasive monitoring of vital signs and biomarkers.

The clean hydrogen market is poised for growth, driven by decarbonization efforts and concerns around energy security. A number of ambitious targets and roadmaps are being set out by different governments and regions. Clean hydrogen can refer to a number of routes for producing hydrogen, but the primary among them are green and blue hydrogen.

The energy crisis, combined with the ever-pressing need to transition to net zero, is driving innovations within the energy landscape. Technology choices, material choices, and business models are shifting and evolving to meet global energy and consumer demands. IDTechEx offer a market intelligence platform covering technology innovation in the energy sector, aiming to help clients address needs and find opportunities in the complex energy landscape .

Autonomous mobility is the key value proposition for many robots. Thanks to the successes of self-driving systems in commercial vehicles from companies like Tesla and John Deere. Autonomous driving has gained significant momentum across the robotics industry.

A shirt that can track a person's heart rate, a shoe that can measure gait - the integration of electronic components with textiles to form e-textiles has been a significant research interest for several years.

The second-life EV battery market is one of great importance for many reasons. These include adding value to future energy infrastructure, creating a circular economy for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and providing a lower levelized cost of storage compared to new batteries.

Integrating multiple functionalities within a single entity promises simpler, more efficient devices without compromising capability. Smartphones are a great example, with maps, diaries, phones, cameras, games consoles, and more integrated into a single, compact device.

Solid-state battery, one of the most promising next-generation battery technologies, has the potential to reshuffle the global battery supply chain, and a US$8 billion-market-size opportunity is potentially waiting for solid-state batteries, according to IDTechEX's report "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2023-2033: Technology, Forecasts, Players".

Thursday 30 March 2023 - Based off the new IDTechEx report, this webinar will cover; Benchmarking of SiC versus GaN and future developments, Materials evolution for power packages and industry pain points, Market demand for SiC and opportunities for GaN, and a market outlook for EV power electronics broken down by voltage

IDTechEx has published a series of articles recently covering hydrogen- and ammonia-powered fuel cell (FC) demand in shipping. One of the most common responses to this has been - what about methanol?

At Tesla's Investor Day in March 2023, it announced that its next generation of electric motors would contain no rare earth materials. Given Tesla's huge presence in the EV (electric vehicle) market, this could prove a significant transition for the design and sustainability of electric motors.

Thursday 23 March 2023 - Developments, Prospect & Challenges. The webinar will cover; Motivation for low-carbon and blue hydrogen production, Overview of blue hydrogen production technologies, Outline of key players, trends, and innovations in technologies, Outlook on blue hydrogen, and Drivers & challenges for the industry

6G, compared to its predecessor, is expected to offer significantly better communication capabilities, such as Tbps-level peak data rates, microsecond-level latency, and 99.99999% network dependability.

Whatever the name - be that the humble 'chip', the slightly misleading 'microchip', the technically robust 'semiconductor integrated circuit', or the slightly less technically robust 'integrated circuit' - chips are everywhere; in laptops, mobile phones, TVs, automobiles, displays, and other electrical products a thousand times over.

Using graphene to improve the performance of energy storage devices has been a key focus ever since the 2D material was isolated. As soon as the first commercial graphene manufacturers were established, there has been a steady stream of announcements related to batteries, but perhaps none are as significant as the 2023 news of Evonik entering the field with their investment in SuperC.

Thursday 16 March - This webinar will; Explain the main areas which rely on semiconductor technologies in modern vehicles; Discuss how automation and electrification trends will impact semiconductor demand; Show the current capabilities of automotive tier 2 companies; and Examine how the supply chain is shifting to accommodate more high-performance computing in vehicles

Are you unsatisfied with the color reproduction of your smartphone camera? Would you like your phone or other household appliance to detect different materials or even assess the freshness of food? The emerging technology of miniaturized spectrometers and multispectral cameras holds the solution.

Wednesday 15 March 2023 - Thermal Management Opportunities in Emerging Technology Markets. Key takeaways from the webinar; Electric vehicles (thermal management and fire protection); ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems); 5G infrastructure; Data centers; Consumer electronics; Combined EMI shielding and TIM options

The demand for electric vehicle (EV) power electronics will increase dramatically in the next ten years, primarily driven by rapid growth in the BEV car market, where IDTechEx predicts a 15% CAGR globally over the next decade.

Cultured meat, or the use of animal cells grown to create lab-grown meat products, has been a hot topic in recent years, with big milestones such as its commercialization in Singapore in 2020 and, recently, regulatory approval in the United States. So, when will cultured meat hit local supermarket shelves?

As a pioneer in adopting traditional industrial robots, the automotive manufacturing industry has significantly improved its productivity and efficiency. Although traditional industrial robots have presented significant benefits, one of the fundamental challenges is their high downtime costs.

There is a need to scrap the "highway-centric" model of urban development and prioritize the ease and convenience of local trips. Most car trips are short trips carrying just one person. Most of the energy is wasted on carrying the vehicle's own weight.

Battery thermal management is a critical component to an electric vehicles (EVs) operation. Cells need to be kept cool when under load from driving and charging or kept warm during cold ambient conditions. This enables more efficient operation of the batteries and improves safety.

Surfaces, be they in kitchen appliances, automotive interiors, medical devices, or even furniture, are becoming increasingly smart. Embedded lighting, touch sensitivity, heating, and even haptic feedback enables inanimate and often neglected surfaces into a design feature with seamlessly integrated user controls. But what is the best way to manufacture these smart surfaces?