In February 2021, The US agency DARPA awarded contracts to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Martin Defense Group (formerly Navatek) to build demonstration versions of the new Manta Ray unmanned underwater vehicle with an energy-harvesting system to power it indefinitely, allowing the robot submarine to carry out missions lasting months or years without returning to base or refueling.

Among the Li-ion batteries competitors, the Redox Flow Battery (RFB) system is one of the main competitors currently approaching the market.

Thursday 25 February 2021 - Solar cars and boats are now mainstream, some never plugging in. The technology of the most advanced ones is being licensed to others, a robot shuttle being next up.

This video presentation shares some of the research from the new IDTechEx report "Solar Vehicles 2021-2041 2nd Edition". www.IDTechEx.com/Solar

With more than 1TWh of battery capacity installed in the ten-year forecast and a market size of $56bn, the "Batteries for Stationary Energy Storage 2021-2031" report shows the fast-growing scale of this market, analyzing the main technologies involved in this energetic revolution.

Thursday 18 February 2021 - Emerging 3rd and 4th generation emissive materials for OLED displays; A technological transition that increases the efficiency of organic photovoltaics; Functional inks for lighting; and Low temperature component attachment materials.

Wednesday 3 February 2021 - 5G communications has come to a phone near you and 6G communications received strong investment in 2020 as we move to its standards, specification and substantial rollout in 2030. However, this time will be different because the objective is far more heroic.

In 2017, after four years of setbacks and crashes, Alphabet shut its project flying solar-powered fixed-wing drones in the upper atmosphere to beam the internet to those cut-off. They have now ended their upper-atmosphere balloon version as well.

The new IDTechEx report, "Transparent Electronics Materials, Applications, Markets 2021-2041", describes a market increasing fivefold from 2021-2031. By 2041 it will be over $23 billion.

Electricity generation from renewable energies is growing on a daily basis and, to integrate their variable nature, energy storage systems are growing in parallel. IDTechEx have investigated the evolution of the energy storage market, forecasting its growth in the next ten years, in the new report: "Batteries for Stationary Energy Storage 2021-2031".

Wednesday 13 January 2021 - This webinar, presented by IDTechEx Chairman Dr Peter Harrop, explains how, of the trillions of dollars being spent on smart cities, the advanced materials part is rising to hundreds of billions yearly.

IDTechEx currently have a number of energy harvesting related webinars available to watch on-demand. These include presentations on triboelectrics, self-powered electronics, photovoltaics, hydrogen economy and smart cities.

Cities will make all their own food, fresh water, and electricity for reasons of empowerment, security, and cost.

The brand new IDTechEx report, Transparent Electronics Materials, Markets 2021-2041, is available to order today! This in-depth report explores see-through micro LED, OLED, QD displays, photovoltaic windows, electric darkening, RadarGlass, circuits, metamaterials, heaters and antennas.

IDTechEx investigate the evolution of the hydrogen market and the development of the hydrogen economies of the major countries around the world in their new report "The Hydrogen Economy, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Production Methods".

The new IDTechEx report, "Transparent Electronics Materials, Applications, Markets 2021-2041" describes a market that will be well above $20 billion in 2041 with a substantial possible upside.

Smart cities are now much more ambitious. That means new materials are their biggest enabler, with information and computer technology dropping to an important support role.

IDTechEx have released a brand new report, "Smart Cities Emerging Materials Markets 2021-2041" - a comprehensive analysis of multifunctional smart materials, bioplastics, structural electronics, composites, 3D printing, graphene, 2D and 3D molecules, 5G, 6G, IOT, new recycling.

New report available to pre-order from IDTechEx today - "Batteries for Stationary Energy Storage 2021-2031". A global view on the Li-ion-dominated batteries for stationary energy storage market. Regional analysis for behind-the-meter (BTM) & front-of-meter (FTM) development, policies, and market players

In 2020 smart cities have been pivoting reinvented hardware and associated systems.