Fraunhofer

Efficient heating for electric cars

Researchers have developed a highly energy-efficient heating system for electric cars that produces a broad, radiant heat.

Wireless charging and discharging for electric vehicles

In the future, a wireless charging system will allow electric cars not only to charge their batteries, but also to feed energy back into the power grid, helping to stabilize it.

Piezoelectric elastic energy harvesting arrives

Elastic piezoelectric generators are being developed with microwatts demonstrated and watts in prospect for large formats.

Broad-based real-world trial of eMERGE project completed

After more than one million kilometres in two years - from May 2013 to June 2015 - the real-world trial of electric cars known as eMERGE has been completed.

Global electricity storage market for renewables

International and national assessments of the global electricity storage market have been hindered by uncertainty about which technologies and market segments to include. A central question for this roadmap is whether storage is used to support the integration of renewables or for other purposes.

Growth in High-powered Energy Harvesting

The new reality is that energy harvesting - creation of off-grid electricity where it is needed, using ambient energy - is now one subject from microwatts for wireless sensors to tens of kilowatts for vehicles and buildings. This is because it increasingly involves the same technologies, locations and companies. One structure, such as a remote building, will tend to use a range of energy harvesting from very low power EH for wireless sensors to very high power EH for charging those newly announced Tesla house batteries.

Efficiency record for black silicon solar cells jumps to 22.1%

Researchers have obtained the record-breaking efficiency of 22.1% on nanostructured silicon solar cells.

Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe: Key Learnings from the 2015 Show

The recent IDTechEx event "Energy Harvesting and Storage Europe" in Berlin was once again a good barometer of what is happening in the industry. Here are some of our delegates' comments on our Europe 2015 event.

Innovative materials for future products

The Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC will present multifunctional materials for new applications and novel products at the IDTechEx trade show in Berlin on 28 and 29 April.

Separating fact from fiction in 3D Bioprinting

"Eventually 3D printing will print people," according to Will.i.am, the music producer, rapper and entrepreneur. "I'm not saying I agree with it, I'm just saying what's fact based on plausible growth in technology." How true is this? And how close are we? At IDTechEx, we take pride in cutting through the hype, to reveal what is actually possible and where the real opportunities lie.

Wearable, automotive and IoT drive sensor growth at IDTechEx Show!

The last decade has seen the cost of sensors fall to an average sales price of 50 cents from several dollars, driven first by the increase in sensors for automotive followed by consumer electronics such as smart phones. The next phase of volume growth will be driven by wearable technology, IoT and driver assisted/autonomous vehicles. This is also driving work on new types of sensors, such as flexible, larger area ones.

Highlights from the First Major Supercapacitor Event of 2015

The first day at the AABC Conference 2015 in Mainz Germany brought interesting insights on the future of the energy storage industry in Europe. The keynote session highlighted the role, structure and organisation of some of the main battery RD centers in Germany.

Crystalsol

Crystalsol OÜ was founded in 2008 as spin off company of the Technical University Tallinn and registered in Tallinn, Estonia. The company develops flexible photovoltaic technology based on CuSnZnS semiconductor particle. The technology is based on decades of research for the Russian military and Philips semiconductor know-how from the 1960s.

EU-funded project investigates energy harvesting

Energy harvesting systems that are developed within the Smart-MEMPHIS project will have many applications ranging from implantable pacemakers to aircrafts.

Speakers announced for 3D Printing Europe 2015

IDTechEx is excited to announce the agenda for 3D Printing Europe 2015. After months of planning, we are ready to launch our fantastic speaker programme.

Micro battery and capacitive energy harvesting workshop

One-day WORKSHOP, Berlin April 27th 2015.

What's New in 3D Printing?

IDTechEx Research recently attended a 3D Printing Materials Conference in Maastricht. Here we share what we learned.