Ammonia is the world's 2nd most produced chemical, and 80% of it is currently used to produce fertilizers. Ammonia is produced from hydrogen and nitrogen. Conventionally, the hydrogen is sourced from natural gas, tying its production to price volatility and geopolitical supply risks as has been seen at the Straight of Hormuz. Decoupling ammonia production from natural gas is occurring via green ammonia production, which uses the electrolysis of water as a hydrogen feedstock.

Innovations in renewable energy have never been so prevalent, with global decarbonization goals pushing for developments in ways to generate power that have no harmful or long-lasting environmental impacts.

By 2027, two first-of-a-kind SAF plants will be operational in the US. Developments in policy and energy prices will dictate their competitiveness on the domestic market, with the strengths and weaknesses of each pathway being discussed in this IDTechEx article.

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation 2025/40 (PPWR) will begin rolling out from August 2026, introducing stricter requirements for packaging recyclability, recycled content, transparency, and producer responsibility across the EU. Chemical recycling is expected to play an important role in helping companies comply with these rules by enabling difficult-to-recycle materials, such as multilayer packaging and mixed plastic waste, to be processed into valuable recycled feedstocks. The regulation also establishes ambitious recycled-content targets through 2040, strengthening the case for mass balance accounting approaches that support chemically recycled materials. IDTechEx believes these regulatory changes are likely to be a major driver for the growth and adoption of chemical recycling technologies in the coming decade.

The production capacity for low-carbon ammonia will grow to 56.5 million tonnes in 2036.

As part of the device miniaturization trend happening worldwide, consumer electronics are becoming increasingly streamlined, with conductive inks, flexible batteries, and other technologies making this possible.

Electric vehicles are continuing to play a vital role in decarbonizing the transport industry as they help with the shift away from fossil fuel reliance with their utilization of battery technologies. This article covers micro EVs, materials, and thermal management.