This conference concerned petrol stations in the UK. They have collapsed in number from 35,948 in 1971 to a mere 8,434 today. The collapse would have been worse were it not for hypermarkets opening new stations.

The IDTechEx Show! in Berlin, Germany on 10-11 May is Europe's most important event for those involved in technology scouting and product innovation, bringing together emerging technologies with global brands.

IDTechEx analyst Dr Laura Baers gives an overview of solar fuels and explains why artificial photosynthesis is still difficult to bring to market.

They call it Airborne Wind Energy (AWE). It started with kites flying higher than a conventional wind turbine to create electricity from the familiar figure of eight trajectory where winds are much stronger and more consistent than those tapped by conventional wind turbines on land or even offshore.

Recently, there has been a sharp increase in development activity with electric aircraft, as examined in the new report from IDTechEx Research, Manned Electric Aircraft 2017-2027.

IDTechEx are at the Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Conference in Sindlefingen, Germany where 48V mild hybrids are rightly a strong focus.

2016 was the year of Li-ion batteries' silver jubilee, a coming of age that has not been hassle-free, as Samsung's Firegate showed us. This year might mark the first significant switch to new materials in the electrolyte compartment, with both large and small companies trying to bring inorganic and polymer electrolytes to commercial fruition.

In the IDTechEx report,"Fuel Cell Vehicles 2016-2026" we predicted that the window of opportunity for fuel cell vehicles is closing as battery pure electric vehicles grab their target markets.

For the first time, air pollution in the UK is now primarily caused by road vehicles. Legal limits for the year were exceeded in the first four days of the 2017. London schools are being built where the children are forced to suck in four times the approved amount of acid gas.

The technology of Airborne Wind Energy AWE has progressed in leaps and bounds recently as many developers prepare to sell them.

China has already once completely transformed the photovoltaic (PV) industry and maybe about to do so again.

ARM is at the top of its game and its remarkable advances lead the field in most of the sectors covered in the forthcoming IDTechEx Show! May 10-11, with its 3000 paying delegates, 200 exhibitors and 225 presentations in nine parallel conferences. That is why ARM is giving a cornerstone presentation at the start of all of them.

Thermoelectric energy harvester technology developers have had their hands full: they have identified multiple applications from industrial, to automotive, to portable/wearable devices, and are looking to find the perfect balance between power output, operational temperature, cost at volume production, some of the most important considerations when looking to develop a thermoelectric energy harvester.

Exciting business opportunities are emerging from the confusion that has been the Internet of Things industry for the past 10 years.

The transparent conductive film (TCF) industry will leave behind its years of sluggish growth to achieve rapid growth.

At the recent Future Powertrain Conference in Solihull UK, Professor Matthias Wellers, Managing Director AVI Powertrain, said he liked the idea of intermittent catenaries on major roads charging inter-city pure electric trucks.

San Diego is affectionately known as America's finest city, but the Southern California metropolis will soon become America's smartest city.

RFID is booming - it now accounts for the largest number of silicon integrated circuits made of one particular type. But in addition to over 20% growth, there is much more to come. RFID is moving beyond wireless identification alone to wireless sensing of parameters such as temperature, humidity and much more.

Nothing lasts forever: things wear out. However, there is a huge pent up demand for "perpetual" autonomous drones for everything from security to surveying, meteorology and even power generation.

IDTechEx finds that the construction, agriculture and mining part alone will be an $81 billion market in 2027 with considerable opportunities for consolidation of players and technological breakthroughs with major market disruption and creation.