3D printing of fibre-reinforced polymers is rapidly approaching a commercial tipping point. This is quickly becoming one of the most exciting and impactful areas of 3D printing; over the next decade the market will grow to $2bn, the installed base and applications will expand, and technology will continue to mature. This growth will not be without challenges; there are barriers to adoption to be overcome in multiple sectors, supply chains & d...

Here come 600-mile electric cars and they will grab market share even as city cars. At last, you will be able to buy an EV that lets you vacation in it wherever you wish. The detail is in the new IDTechEx report, ‘Routes to 1000 Mile (1600km) Battery Electric Cars 2021-2041’.

From free-range chicken to food miles on alfalfa, eating ethically is becoming more and more of a head-scratcher. Even for vegans, there are the questions of how sustainably agave was sourced, or whether environment-damaging pesticides were used to grow kale - and all that is without even considering how the food tastes.

IDTechEx have released their latest report on Electronic Skin Patches. The report, titled ‘Electronic Skin Patches 2021-2031’, covers the market, technology, and players in this unique product sector, and predicts that the sector will be worth $10bn in annual revenue in 2021.

Image sensing is an essential capability, utilised across multiple applications that range from webcams and smartphone cameras to autonomous vehicles and industrial inspection. The brand new report from IDTechEx, ‘Emerging Image Sensor Technologies 2021-2031: Applications and Markets’, comprehensively explores the market for emerging image sensors, covering a diverse range of technologies that span from thin film flexible photodetecto...

Multiple thrusters are one thing in aircraft. In vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) they reduce the efficiency deficit with helicopters, providing unmatched redundancy and stability in wind. However, the term distributed propulsion (DP) primarily refers to a fundamentally new form of wing that intimately blends aerodynamics with thrust and zero emissions.

The past year has seen many of us working from home and spending a lot more time using streaming services and staying indoors. This has caused a greater demand on data centers worldwide leading to increased sales of equipment.

The resilience of global Electric Vehicle (EV) sales during 2020 provided some optimism as to the maturing state of the electric vehicle market. However, sales are still primarily underpinned by government policy, and improvements in cost and performance to Li-ion cells and packs, not to forget other aspects of the vehicle or grid infrastructure, are needed for widespread adoption.

Imagine a few years from now. You can buy a car that often needs charging but it can be fast charging or you can choose the opposite. You only need to charge one-third of the number of times so you do that at home, at the hotel or supermarket, never in the street, once a month or less.

Limits on the amount of bioethanol and biodiesel that can be blended with conventional fossil fuels mean growth in the consumption of certain biofuels has slowed considerably, or plateaued, over the past five years. However, with CO2 targets becoming increasingly stringent, and some sectors being difficult to electrify, renewable fuels are likely to still be needed over the coming years.

The high-volume production of silica aerogel products is not a new business. Despite being known since the 1930s, the adoption of the ultralightweight insulator has faced many false-starts across the 20th century; the commercial ramp-up has only been seen in the last two decades, but it has still not been the rapid profitable expansion model that many hoped.

The Li-ion market has been buoyed by an electric car market that remained surprisingly resilient during 2020. However, most electric vehicle markets are still heavily reliant on public subsidy and incentives. To move way from this, and toward widespread adoption, improvements to Li-ion cell and battery technology are needed for cheaper and better performing batteries.

Automotive OEMs have always added features to differentiate their vehicles, either from other brands or from other models in their product range. Traditionally this was done primarily by changing the engine parameters, for example increasing the displacement, using more cylinders, or adding a turbocharger. 

Haptic technologies, familiar to most through the buzz of the keypad on a touchscreen, are actuator applications that target the sense of touch. Many common haptic applications only target a particular area, for example, smartphones affecting the hands and fingers, but haptic exoskeletons expand their effects to a full-body experience, with potential use in industries from gaming to the medical field.

This webinar shares some of the research for the new IDTechEx report, 'Manned Electric Aircraft: Smart City and Regional 2021-2041'.

Batteries can threaten our health and safety. Most forms still have problems of reliability, price, life, weight, size or working cold. Fast charging and discharging and even deep discharge can still be inadequate for many applications. Improving the battery is proving very useful but other workarounds are increasingly attractive, feasible and affordable. 

From mobile phones, TVs, to cars and public screens, displays have become an important component in our daily life to convey information. There is an emerging display type - Micro-LED display, which has the potential to become the next-generation mainstream, with its ability to be fabricated from tiny to huge sizes.

IDTechEx has released a new technical market research report, 'Printed and Flexible Electronics for Automotive Applications 2021-2031: Technologies and Markets', on the current status of printed/flexible electronics in all aspects of automotive design and manufacturing, along with future opportunities created by these transitions.

Each year April 22nd marks Earth Day, a worldwide event that aims to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, activists across the world have used to occasion to push for an increased awareness over environmental issues and lobby for policy changes. The theme of this year's Earth Day is 'Restore Our Earth', with the event focusing on natural processes, emerging green technologies and inno...

With the launch of Micro- and Mini-LED displays by various OEMs and display vendors, the self-emissive LED-based displays have attracted tremendous attention by both investors and end-users. A selection of examples can be found below: