2014 has been an eventful year for the graphene industry. The first round of commercial applications has already been announced, and the industry has witnessed intense investment and acquisition activity as further companies have gone public. Despite the high interest, valuations of public graphene companies have declined, returning largely to where they were at the time of their IPOs.

Until 2014, there was only limited interest in thermoelectric energy harvesting and its automotive uses, explains the IDTechEx report ‘Energy Harvesting/ Regeneration for Electric Vehicles Land, Water & Air 2015-2025’. The maximum attainable efficiency, theoretically one half of that for photovoltaics, was in actuality around one tenth of theoretical at 3%. However, 2014 saw a sharp change in attitude. 

Load bearing structures that are also electronic or electrical are called structural electronics. This two-for-one approach can be more reliable, attractive and long-lived and saves space. With a vehicle, saving weight also reaps dividends, such as when devices and circuits are applied experimentally to an electric car or plane that travels much further on a single charge as a consequence.

According to a report published by IDTechEx, the 3D printing materials market is expected to increase from $800m in 2013 to $8bn by 2025. 3D printing is already common in aerospace, orthopaedic, jewellery and dental sectors, and is becoming more common in education, military, architecture, medical research and automotive sectors. This is because 3D printing is no longer used just for one-off pieces and prototypes, but for final part producti...

First came the significant investment from the materials community but now the equipment industry has turned its attention to printed electronics as a growth opportunity. New IDTechEx research for the report 'Printing Equipment for Printed Electronics 2014-2025' has identified 93 organisations from around the world involved in the supply of equipment

The market for hybrid and pure electric cars that meet authorised standards is set to be $188bn billion in 2025 according to IDTechEx analysis. However, the world has changed for cars overall and now big is not always beautiful for mainstream car manufacture and EVs will reflect this writes Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman of IDTechEx.

Disruptive sensor technologies that will enable new applications for wearable devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) will be examined at Printed Electronics USA in Santa Clara California (Nov 19-20). Several companies exhibiting at the show have already products and solutions designed for the IoT. In particular, attendees will be able to see printed temperature and gas sensors, as well as printed photodetectors that can give vision to surfaces.

Electric and hybrid vehicles for use in construction, agriculture and mining will be a market worth $30bn by 2025, predicts a report published by market research analysts IDTechEx. The report, titled 'Electric Vehicles for Construction, Agriculture and Mining 2015-2025', offers an in-depth explanation of the claim, with detailed forecasts, comparisons and assessments.

The forecasts suggest wearable technology will be a $70bn market and in two week’s time the players in this emerging market will be making their way to IDTechEx’s Wearable Technology LIVE! USA 2014 conference and exhibition in Santa Clara, California (Nov 19-20). The event is co-located with a series of highly relevant and synergic tradeshows and conferences on Printed Electronics, Energy Harvesting and Storage and the Internet of Thi...

Structural electronics (SE) is one of the most important emerging technologies this century. It is all about multi-functionality; dumb structural components that traditionally provided mechanical stability are now bestowed with electronic and electric functionality – aircraft fuselage, car body, even plastic coating on a cable and the humble printed circuit board.

Although glucose test strips have improved the lives of millions of diabetic patients who need to monitor their blood glucose level on a regular basis, the days of high margin disposable glucose test strips may be coming to an end. This may benefit company’s developing alternative products for glucose monitoring, which do not require patients to cut themselves multiple times a day.

Optimism is fast returning to the entire photovoltaic industry despite some still having approximately 20% over-capacity. The sales are up and the estimates for shipments in 2014 range from 41 to 49 GW, up from 30 GW in 2012. This is welcome news as the industry experienced several difficult years characterised by over-capacity and reduced demand, triggering an intense wave of consolidation globally. The IDTechEx Printed Electronics and Energy Ha...

OLED displays, sensors and conductive ink - make up 99% of the $23.97 billion market for printed, organic and flexible electronics according to a new report – Printed, Organic and Flexible Electronics 2014-2024 – published by IDTechEx. A snapshot of the market size in 2014 shown here highlights the range of enabling technologies involved are at very different points of maturity and profitability.

According to a recently updated report, global market forecast for all hybrid and pure EVs is expected to exceed $533bn by 2025. The report, titled 'Electric Vehicle Forecasts, Trends and Opportunities 2015-2025', was published by IDTechEx. The sales of the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S pure electric cars are increasing at such a rate that Tesla cannot produce enough to meet demand for at least a year.

Rising as new sectors become substantial, IDTechEx forecast electric vehicle sales in 37 categories. Some, such as golf cars, are mature and will not experience further growth, while others (electric motorcycles and unmanned electric aircraft, for example) have substantial sales being generated by sale of the devices, sale of services around them and new technology for them.

Form factor is becoming a major driver shaping innovation and transforming the energy storage industry globally. This is fuelled by the emergence of new market categorises such as wearable electronic devices and Internet of Things, which demand thinness and flexibility. These needs add a new force to current prevalent market drivers such as cost reduction and power/energy density increases.

Consumers are demanding that personal electronics become thinner and more affordable, yet have ever bigger screens with better images. Apple has experience challenges with the Phone 6 being damaged when sat on and most smart watches are using chunky components-in-a-box technology with tiny human interfaces. As more modern technology is adopted, the wearables market will advance greatly.

Structural electronics is a large new market assessed in the IDTechEx report 'Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts'. The report provides ten year forecasts for structural electronics and for key enabling technologies employed or envisaged such as printed electronics. Electric vehicles particularly need structural electronics so their numbers are forecast for the next ten years, in 37 categories. By Dr Peter...

According to the research report 'Wearable Technology 2014-2024: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts', IDTechEx has forecast huge growth in wearable technology sales over the coming decade. This includes growth in wearable technology for animals which is the subject of a separate report.

A report published by IDTechEx has found that although the market for OLEDs will be slow to take off until 2019-20, it will reach $1.9bn in 2025. The report, titled 'OLED Lighting Opportunities 2014-2025: Forecasts, Technologies, Players', assessed the technology and markets for OLEDs in the lighting sector.