Surprises abound in the new IDTechEx Research report, ‘Supercapacitor Markets, Technology Roadmap, Opportunities 2021-2041’. In 2010, there were no Chinese manufacturers in the top ten supercapacitor manufacturers. In 2020, 40% of them are Chinese. This has been achieved by world-class R&D, being in one of the largest markets globally, strong investment and government support including protective trading.

In today's digital age, focus on digital health and the quantified self have led to the rapid rise of heart rate monitoring technologies through wearables such as fitness trackers and smartwatches. Such devices have already proven their ability in detecting hidden heart conditions such as tachycardia and atrial fibrillation in seemingly healthy people.

The autonomous mobility industry is tackling part of the last-mile problem that many commuters encounter when using public transportation by replacing large, diesel buses with a fleet of electric, self-driving shuttle buses that transport small groups of people along defined and planned routes.

The electric vehicle market is expanding. As a consequence, the market for power modules within all manners of electric vehicles is expanding. This, in turn, will translate into rising demand for materials, including die attach materials, used in power electronic packages and modules.

Plug-in Electric Vehicles (EVs) are approaching an inflection point as battery costs fall, driving range improves and consumer awareness and acceptance increases. But larger batteries and longer range alone is not going to address range anxiety for consumers: broader access to charging infrastructure is one of the key factors to convincing consumers a pleasant driving experience awaits.

Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops indoors under tightly controlled conditions, is continuing to expand rapidly. By using LED lighting tailored to the exact needs of the crop, alongside advanced hydroponic growing systems, and growing crops in vertically stacked trays, vertical farms can achieve yields hundreds of times higher than the same area of traditional farmland.

Traction batteries and motors in Electric Vehicles (EVs) are very different to the powertrain components of the internal-combustion engine vehicles they replace. Their meteoric rise will lead to much greater demand for several materials markets which otherwise would see only modest growth.

5G enables incredible download rates with minimal latency and has the potential to enable many future technologies, such as autonomous cars, various augmented reality applications and much more. With 5G technology, however, comes an increase in the need for effective thermal management.

Flexible hybrid electronics is a rapidly emerging approach to electrical circuit manufacture. This webinar will begin by highlighting the motivation for flexible hybrid electronics, specifically how it avoids the technical and commercial challenges that have hindered the adoption of fully printed electronics.

In its recently published report 'Innovations in Robotic Surgery 2020-2030: Technologies, Players & Markets', IDTechEx reports that the robotic surgery market will reach over $12bn by 2030. The report breaks down the market landscape and emerging technologies in the field of robotic surgery.

Supercapacitors and their variants have recently seen customer commitment to multibillion-dollar opportunities that were previously beyond their reach. Consider large peak-shaving ones for hybrid cars where the Geely orders will soon be followed by others.

Electric ships have some of the largest individual batteries of any electric vehicle sector; below is a list of the largest projects IDTechEx have been tracking. Before reading the list, below are typical battery capacities from on-road electric vehicles (in 2019) to provide perspective:

Mention an electronic circuit and you are likely to picture a Printed Circuit Board (PCB): a rigid rectangle in a characteristic green colour with copper lines and a bewildering array of components soldered onto it. But does adding electronic functionality means using a PCB and thus requires shoehorning a rigid rectangle into the product?

Growth in the Li-ion market means significant investments are now being made into building out capacity for manufacturing Li-ion batteries and their components and as the demand for Li-ion batteries grow, so too does the importance of performance and cost improvements.

Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality are being used more and more in hospitals by doctors and healthcare professionals to provide them with a hands-free working environment, greater flexibility with overlaying information and processing information from its camera. IDTechEx predicts this market to be over $20bn. IDTechEx's report on 'Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030' provides a detailed overview of this sector.

The UK is currently experiencing a heatwave - London, for example, has had the longest stretch of hot weather in almost 60 years. With an increase in temperature, there is an increase in demand for tap water. One area which is affected is the South West Water network, with water shortages across Sussex and up to 300 households left without tap water for five days. But could this have been averted? Yes - it could, with proper sensors in the w...

The new IDTechEx report, ‘Sensors 2021-2041’ has analysed the whole subject in the light of such seismic changes as the COVID-19 virus. The sensor business is in turmoil. The industries that spend most on sensors are changing as are the sensors.

Nearly every sector is proposing the use of artificial intelligence. Materials science R&D is relatively late to this trend, and there are many industry-specific hurdles, but the opportunities are beginning to be realised and the potential impact is significant. By Dr Richard Collins, Principal Analyst at IDTechEx

It is often imagined that agriculture is alien to new technologies. This is far from reality. In fact, agriculture has always been a pioneer in the adoption of new technologies, embracing motor/power, modified seed, and agrochemical technologies over many decades to boost productivity, and today, agricultural robots and drones are no different.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are considered by the most, as two competing technologies. Although both technologies power an electric motor, they have different properties and each of them is well suited for some uses more than others.