2018 is regarded as the beginning year for battery recycling as the first batch of batteries are gradually coming out of electric vehicles. Umicore has recently announced their investment plan in ramping up battery recycling capacity in preparation for the boom of spent EV batteries. By 2018, we will already have around 33,000 retired electric vehicle battery packs (including electric passenger cars and buses) which amounts to around 1GWh storage capacity.

The new IDTechEx report, "Airborne Wind Energy 2019-2039" comes just as new generation, zero emission electricity production approaches a tipping point. The new generation addresses the new world of distributed power for minigrids and microgrids and replacement of diesel gensets, so it is mobile with no infrastructure. Installation in one hundredth of the time and making electricity where it is needed without power lines across the horizon: what is there not to like?

IDTechEx visit the UbiQD exhibit at the IDTechEx Show! Europe 2018 to discuss their down shifting high energy light sources allowing for better energy absorption through their solar cells due to the altered wavelengths.

It is a technological megatrend providing billion dollar business opportunities. The unique new IDTechEx Research report "Smart Materials as Structural Electronics and Electrics 2019-2029" explains how structural materials can be electronically, electrically, mechanically, magnetically and optically smart nowadays.

This article concerns TactoTek in Oulu Finland and how its technologies can scale up and create billion dollar businesses.

The key next iteration for fiber reinforced polymer products will be the concept of multifunctionality. This is the idea of making a structural part carry out additional role(s) beyond their current primary mechanical task - the market for smart composite material is forecast to exceed 5 kilotons by 2029.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Tuesday 2 October titled Fuel Cell Vehicles

This is a technological megatrend. Dumb load-bearing metal structures move to plastic and composite and incorporate energy harvesting and storage material - massless energy. Indeed you could call some of it negative mass energy. Goodbye components-in-a-box.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 20 September titled Smart City Opportunities.

IDTechEx Research has just published a new report 'Fuel Cell Vehicles 2019-2029'. Fuel cells are commercially successful in stationary applications but commercially unsuccessful in vehicles, beyond a few thousand purchased for material handling vehicles, notably forklifts.

There are two opposing views on storm survival by the new forms of sea power that are mobile and need no massive concrete and steel infrastructure unlike massive river dams, tidal barrages a offshore conventional wind towers.

AWE should be seen as part of a bigger picture. The next generation of zero emission electricity producing technologies has no huge steel and concrete infrastructure, so it can have much less cost and installation time and making it redeployable.

With most of the big players posting healthy figures in Q2, diesel genset revenues are showing continued growth throughout 2018. Are these results a sign of things to come or are they merely delaying an inevitable future decline?

Consumer batteries such as those used in power tools, mobile phones and laptops are normally recycled/disposed after their service life - that's what we normally refer to as the 'end-of-life' of the batteries. However, retired car batteries that are no longer suitable for electric cars could still hold sufficient capacity for second life applications. The 'end-of-life' of an electric car battery needs to be redefined as they could be further used, for example, for another 10 years or even longer in various post-vehicle applications before they are finally recycled/disposed.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 6 September titled Energy Harvesting Microwatt to Megawatt: New Objectives, New Solutions.

The Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) is a global series of conferences for companies and academics to present their latest research on Li-ion batteries for the auto industry. Every year it is held in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

Magically, next generation electricity production continuous (base) electricity production can avoid the massive concrete and steel structures currently used for nuclear power stations with their 1000 year fuel rod problem.

There has been a resurgence in interest and activity surrounding fuel cell technologies for stationary storage applications in 2018. In this premium article, IDTechEx looks at the most suitable technologies for off-grid power and explores the chemistry behind the use of ammonia as an off-grid fuel source in more detail.

The term smart city originally meant little beyond using much more information technology IT. However, new IDTechEx report, "Smart City Opportunities: Infrastructure, Systems, Materials 2019-2029" reveals that much more dramatic changes are both required and possible and humans will be in the driving seat.

The lead acid battery industry repeats a mantra that almost all of them are recycled and they are by far the lowest cost solution for cars and much else besides. Many forces now question and begin to change this.