Research Articles

Wednesday 19 March 2025 - Will Solid-State Batteries Revolutionize Energy Storage or Fall Short of the Hype? Insights into SSB technology benchmarking and market forecasts from IDTechEx's report; An analysis of shifting technological and business focuses post-2025; Updates on scaling-up efforts for commercialization and manufacturing; Exploration of supply chain disruptions driven by new materials and geographic strategies; A critical discussion on safety as a decisive factor in SSB adoption

The automotive radar market is forecast to hit 500 million annual sales in 2041. Learn more about key growth opportunities in this short overview.

Wednesday 26 March 2025 - Benchmarking lithium metal technologies; Discussion of lithium dendrite solutions; Lithium metal player and region market analysis; Application market analysis for lithium metal batteries

In 2023 alone, semiconductor giant TSMC reported consumption of a staggering 101 million m3 of water, highlighting the scale of thirst in this fast-growing sector. Furthermore, as node technology advances, so do the number of manufacturing process steps, and the usage of single wafer tools instead of batch tools, making the task of reducing water usage both challenging and even more critical.

Germany has one of the strongest battery energy storage systems (BESS) potential worldwide, with an already large uptake of residential battery storage, meaning market growth is set to succeed within the next decade.

It should come as no surprise that PIC transceivers are fast becoming essential tools in the AI revolution, where they speed up connections between nodes in data centers whilst reducing power consumption, allowing larger AI models to be trained and executed. IDTechEx's recent report on the topic, "Silicon Photonics and Photonic Integrated Circuits 2025-2035: Technologies, Market, Forecasts", predicts this application to be the major contributor to its US$54 billion forecast for the PIC market in 2035.

Thursday 27 March 2025 - Meeting Emerging EV Thermal Runaway Regulations Through Material Choices; An overview of the thermal runaway regulations; Options and examples for fire protection materials in EV batteries; Fire protection material benchmarking; How material choice can aid battery designers; Market share predictions

Thermal filler materials make up a large portion of the formulation for thermal interface materials, and each has its own benefits and disadvantages, including conductivity, cost, and mechanical properties.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects millions of people worldwide. The condition requires close and careful management to avoid severe health consequences. Today, people with diabetes have access to sophisticated automated insulin dosing (AID) systems that help in many aspects of diabetes management. IDTechEx forecasts that with further developments in AID systems, the diabetes management market can reach US$44 billion by 2035.

Public awareness of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is hitting a new high as headlines concerning "forever chemicals" continue to appear in prominent news outlets. Whether it be news about PFAS bans in different industries, lawsuits against PFAS manufacturers and users, detection of PFAS in various locations and products, and treatment of PFAS in drinking water, there is no doubt that for many, PFAS is one of the foremost health issues of the 2020s.

Newly established radar startups worldwide have raised nearly US$1.2 billion over the past 12 years; approximately US$980 million of which is predominantly directed toward the automotive sector. Through more than 40 funding rounds, these companies have driven the implementation and advancement of radar technologies in key areas such as autonomous driving and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Thursday 13 March 2025 - Why Photonic Integrated Circuits are at the Heart of the AI Revolution; What is a PIC?; The role of PICs, including silicon photonics, in data center transceivers; How the growth in AI accelerator demand is shaping the PIC transceiver market; A roadmap for the future of datacom transceivers; An insight into IDTechEx's ten-year forecasts for the PIC market

The solid-state battery (SSB) industry is transforming and is driven by advanced technologies and rising application demand. Offering breakthroughs in safety and energy density, SSBs could reach a US$9 billion market by 2035.

The rise of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) has reshaped the diabetes management technology market. With the market projected to reach US$44 billion by 2035, CGM technology is transforming diabetes care by replacing painful fingerstick tests and providing real-time glucose insights.

Thursday 20 March 2025 - PFAS: Changing Regulations and Increasing Scrutiny for Forever Chemicals; PFAS definitions and concerns about PFAS exposure; Regulatory updates impacting PFAS; Impact of regulations on PFAS in sustainable food packaging

The advancement of fuel cell technologies, combined with the global commitment to sustainable aviation, creates a significant opportunity for hydrogen-fuelled planes to enhance the sustainability of air travel.

The EV revolution is driving demand for a huge variety of materials used in battery cells and packs. With new chemistries emerging to bridge cost and energy density gaps, the landscape is evolving rapidly. However, battery pack designers face complex challenges.

Emerging image sensors are being developed with capabilities beyond well-established CMOS detectors, with the possibility of detecting broader parts of the light spectrum that are beyond human vision. IDTechEx's report, "Emerging Image Sensor Technologies 2024-2034: Applications and Markets", covers new technologies including hyperspectral imaging and event-based vision.

Numerous barriers and challenges have made trucks (both medium and heavy-duty) more difficult to electrify than lighter vehicle segments. However, within these categories, some considerations make certain applications more easily electrifiable with current technologies, while other applications will require further improvements to electric vehicle (EV) technologies to become viable.

Sourcing the most effective means of keeping vehicle batteries cool is a task explored extensively in IDTechEx's latest report, "Thermal Management for Electric Vehicles 2025-2035: Materials, Markets, and Technologies". The report covers many thermal management approaches for electric vehicles, including immersion cooling, and the respective players aiming to make their uptake more widespread.

Silicon-based solar technologies continue to dominate the market; however, there is rising interest in an emerging technology known as perovskite. Perovskites have the potential to enhance existing silicon solar supplies, but which applications can perovskite solar be used for, and how will it compete in a market dominated by an already well-established technology?

Radars have had a place within the automotive sector for over two decades, beginning with the first use for adaptive cruise control and many other developments taking place since. With radar technology becoming cheaper and, therefore, more widely available, ADAS system features are offered by many vehicle manufacturers. IDTechEx predicts that the automotive radar market will grow with a CAGR of 4.8% between 2024 and 2034.

Thursday 6 Match 2025 - Driving Sustainability: Can Automotive Companies Deliver on Sustainable Plastics?; An overview of sustainable automotive plastics; The circular economy for automotive plastics; A summary of other sustainable materials covered in the report including sustainable upholstery, composites, and tire materials; Coverage of the key drivers pushing for sustainable automotive plastics; The key challenges for players in the automotive supply chain; Industry targets for sustainable plastics adoption; Discussion on the progress of adopting sustainable plastics and other polymers into passenger vehicles; IDTechEx's outlook and conclusions

IDTechEx forecasts that by 2035, the global data center sector will have saved US$150 billion by using low-carbon energy sources compared to a fossil fuel scenario (taking 2024 as the baseline). Some emerging energy technologies expected to play an increasingly important role are explored in this article.

Lithium metal batteries are well placed to see significant adoption in the next ten years. IDTechEx anticipates mass production of solid-state lithium metal in 2027/2028; of liquid electrolyte lithium metal in 2029/2030,6 and of lithium-sulfur in 2031/2032.

The wearable sensors market encompasses an array of exciting technologies with the potential to unlock a host of applications in healthcare, extended reality, industrial IoT, and more. Yet as the wearable sensors market matures, there will be some roadblocks for growth ahead. In this article, IDTechEx outlines three challenges facing the wearable sensors market and some potential solutions which will see the market size grow to US$7.2 billion with a CAGR of 5% by 2035.

The battery remains one of the key components of an EV, and vastly different performance, economic, and operational requirements necessitate a wide range of other batteries likely to be required for each sector. IDTechEx's report "Electric Vehicles across Land, Sea, and Air" covers 11 diverse vehicle categories. What types of batteries will be needed to meet the unique requirements of each of these sectors?

High-perfornance computing (HPC) hardware powers the most advanced computer systems in the world, used for complex simulations, training AI, and more. Explore the driving forces behind the growing demand for HPC, along with the key trends shaping its future.

This article provides an introduction into the key silicon anode materials being developed for Li-ion battery anodes, including silicon oxides, silicon-carbon composites, and 100% silicon anodes. These silicon anode technologies aim to improve battery performance whilst overcoming the poor cycle life historically typical for silicon anode materials.

Thursday 27 February - The issues with conventional semiconductor manufacturing and circuit patterning; Barriers and opportunities for sustainable manufacturing processes; The search for green chemicals and PFAS alternatives for semiconductor circuit patterning; The impact of EUV lithography on sustainability; Research focuses and advancements in dry etching

Repurposing EV batteries extends their lifespan, maximizes value, and delays recycling. In this short overview, IDTechEx explores the growing second-life battery market, key opportunities, and industry trends.

As growing numbers of countries identify critical materials within their economies, the ability to recycle them is becoming increasingly important, especially considering both their economic importance and ongoing supply risks. Sustainability goals rely on growing technology sectors like electric vehicles, which rely on magnets to be manufactured, ultimately meaning sourcing and recycling critical materials is an economic necessity to keep supply chains running.

In this article, IDTechEx explores two different quantum sensing approaches: semiconductor-based and superconducting single-photon detectors, and the competition between them in enabling the photonic quantum computing and quantum communications industries.

Global sales for electric cars will reach 69 million by 2045 - IDTechEx offers expert-led insights on this evolving market based on unique information from industry leaders.

When the Society of Automotive Engineers released their definitions of varying levels of automation from level 0 to level 5, it became easier to define and distinguish between the many capabilities and advancements of autonomous vehicles. Supervision and functionality remain in the balance as values to prioritize for OEMs choosing to employ higher levels of automation.

With global cargo and e-commerce demand set to skyrocket over the next 20 years, electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs) will play a crucial role in the decarbonization of transport. eLCVs are now technologically mature enough to compete with current combustion vehicles on virtually all performance metrics. However, before they can be adopted en-masse into commercial fleets, they must first demonstrate that they can be financially competitive too.