Robotics, automotive, energy and healthcare. Interview with Dr Peter Harrop on his new report: Sensors 2021-2041

There are many solar markets only accessible with technologies beyond silicon. They include transparent and flexible film solar, underwater and indoor solar. Consider lightweight photovoltaic film on the sides of buildings that cannot support heavy glass. Film retrofits on buses and boats to boost range.

Learn about electronics as smart materials bypassing the traditional industry.

This article highlights some key material development trends. More specifically, approaches to increase the thermal conductivity (in W/mK) of TIMs are considered. This is an important trend because the IDTechEx assessment is that the market, in absolute terms, for high or ultrahigh thermal conductivity TIM materials, will inevitably rise.

The new IDTechEx report, "Materials Opportunities in Emerging Photovoltaics 2020-2040", is based on interviews by multi-lingual, PhD level IDTechEx analysts across the world and 20 years tracking the research and applications. They predict $38 billion dollars in 2040 without colliding with the silicon-in-glass "power station" business. There will be many opportunities for premium pricing of its new specialist materials.

The conductive ink market is diverse. This is shown in the schematic below, showing the commercialization status of diverse spectrum applications. This diversity is both a blessing and a curse.

The bus market is at a crossroads. The pressing need for cities around the world to improve air quality, alongside commitments by many governments to address climate change, are powering plans to deliver zero on-road emission city bus fleet solutions. Over the next decade these efforts will see major cities increasingly refuse to purchase anything but zero-emission buses, as they deliver on promised zero-emission zones to protect the health of their citizens.

The drivetrain of an electric vehicle is, in theory, much simpler than a combustion vehicle. Despite this, many electric vehicle contain several different coolant fluids. Is this optimal or a remnant from legacy systems?

Thermal management of batteries for electric vehicles is a crucial issue. It is important not only for safety and thermal runaway prevention, but also for the performance and longevity of the battery.

Fuel cells able to convert hydrogen into electricity are called to play an important role in the energy transition towards a future with zero-emissions.

Materials suppliers need to appraise opportunities at all power levels of energy harvesting. Those developing, making and using harvesters providing microwatts to GW need to see the big picture and how they can expand into it.

In this webinar IDTechEx Chairman, Dr Peter Harrop, describes a large new opportunity for added value materials suppliers. Electronics and electrics are moving from components-in-a-box to user "edit-able" composites, stretchable film and even paint.

Once every ten years the promising future of a hydrogen economy and fuel cells is announced. Hydrogen over the years has had several periods of hypes, which always blow off as nothing concrete, but why are we still talking about it? And why is there still the belief of a hydrogen economy, when Li-ion batteries are dominating the market?

In this webinar, IDTechEx Technology Analyst Daniele Gatti, will provide a complete overview of the hydrogen economy, and technical specifics of fuel cells and electrolysers.

This webinar, presented by IDTechEx Technology Analyst Daniele Gatti, will provide an introduction to Redox Flow Batteries (RFBs), addressing some of the technologies developed, and giving an overview of the flow battery market.

An important new trend is buying electrics and electronics you customise to function not just shape. See the new IDTechEx report, "Complete Electronics as Smart Material, User-Customized 2020-2040". Builders, textile manufacturers, those doing home improvement and others are starting to buy electrically-smart materials direct from materials companies, bypassing the electronics industry.

In the over one hundred electric vehicle sectors tracked by IDTechEx, we predominantly foresee a transition partly or completely to a traction battery over the next two decades. The case is not so simple for the marine sector: due to the sheer scale of the power, energy and distance requirements for many vessels, reducing maritime emissions will require solutions varying from batteries and fuel cells to premium fuels, scrubbers and slow-steaming.

Thermal runaway in electric vehicles (EVs) is a major concern for potential consumers, manufacturers and regulators, as thermal runaway of lithium ion batteries is the main cause of fires in EVs.

There is a huge amount of new research on supercapacitors and their variants and particularly on their materials, because these control their performance and cost more than anything. This webinar shares some of the research from the new IDTechEx report, "Supercapacitor Materials and Formats 2020-2040".

Global plug-in electric vehicle (EV) population reached 7.5 million units (including light commercial vehicles) by the end of 2019. Although plug-in EV is only around 2% of global sales today, they are positioned to take the lead of road transportation in the coming decade.