Wednesday 27 October 2021 - This webinar explains how the industry of cement, concrete and allied products is entering a perfect storm. Not like diesel vehicles being wiped out but more a confluence of a further industry shakeout into volume and niche players and everything changing.

The ability to develop new materials and bring them to market ever faster is an obvious goal. There continues to be countless developments that improve chemistry and materials science R&D, but perhaps none represent the same paradigm shift that materials informatics offers. Major industry players are waking up to this as the technology matures.

Semiconductors are the lifeblood of the modern age. From your watch to a washing machine, everything these days seems to be 'smart', 'connected' and therefore enabled by semiconductors. Unsurprisingly then, a massive shortage of chips present 'across all categories', according to some industry executives, is having a profound impact.

Electric vehicle battery packs have increasing requirements concerning their thermal runaway mitigation strategy. Meanwhile, the aerogel industry is overly dependent on oil & gas and in need of diversification. Could this be the perfect match between a problem looking for a solution and a solution looking for a problem?

No one complained about gasoline cars going much further than you would ever drive. As people got used to them, it was realized that long-range means less hassle. With electric cars, the argument is even stronger. Long-range saves you money.

Energy storage is a key enabler for the ongoing electrification of carbon-intensive sectors, namely the automotive and energy industries. Developments in energy storage are driven by the increased uptake of EVs and the balancing of renewable electricity grids to provide power during low solar and wind periods.

World Electric Vehicle Day is here, and, as an industry analyst, it presents a great occasion to take a retrospective look at the past decade of innovation and disruption.

This article explores the history of solid-state batteries and looks ahead at regional development, sharing some of the research from the new IDTechEx report, "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2021-2031: Technology, Forecasts, Players".

Electraflyer has announced that it has passed crossover, meaning it now sells more battery-electric aircraft than polluting ones. Pipistrel sold over 100 battery-electric aircraft last year as they take over from its traditional offerings. Bye Aerospace does not even make conventional aircraft. With its Tesla-style approach, its order book exceeds 720 battery-electric aircraft evenly split between two and four-seaters. As the IDTechEx report, "Manned Electric Aircraft: Smart City and Regional 2021-2041" points out, this has caught Cessna, Cirrus and Piper by surprise.

Thursday 26 August 2021 - Why is even seasonal storage a new requirement? How is it that storage by compressed air, gravity and other non-battery options closely leverage mine assets for greater safety and viability? Why does next generation solar fit so well in mines? and more.

With the growing momentum behind the electric vehicle market comes an added importance of understanding the Li-ion batteries that power them, the variety of design choices available, and trends in their implementation.

Whilst IDTechEx expects EVs to continually improve in safety, there will always be the risk of a battery fire due to many potential causes. This presents an opportunity for those material suppliers making thermal interface materials (TIMs), flame-retardant materials, or fire protection materials.

Imagine mines with so much electricity production and storage that they do far more downstream processing. As reserves deplete, many will even transition to being zero-emission power stations and electricity storage for local communities and industry or even national grids. The cost of making-good becomes income from reinvention. That is the untold story of mining electrification, beyond the vital safety, greening, and cost reduction of electrics.

China's electric two-wheeler market is the largest electric vehicle market in the world. Some 29.66 million were produced in 2020 (with sales typically at over 98% of production). Today, however, the market is no longer seeing the explosive growth of the past, the IDTechEx report "Electric Two-wheelers 2021-2041" finds.

While they may have struggled to find their place in the market over the past few years, there will be significant adoption of redox flow batteries towards the end of the next decade according to a new IDTechEx market report, "Redox Flow Batteries 2021-2031".

Solid-state batteries keep on attracting tremendous attention and investment with the maturing technologies and closeness to mass production. Even with the influence of COVID-19, the potential market size is expected to grow to over $8 billion by 2031, according to IDTechEx's report "Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 2021-2031: Technology, Forecasts, Players".

A more value-added approach to repurposing redundant fossil fuel assets such as coal mines and power stations is available.

Thursday 22 July 2021 - Shifting Thermal Management Strategies. Thermal management of electric vehicles is a key consideration for range, performance, lifetime and safety of EVs. There are several key trends within the EV market, several of which will change the materials, designs and markets for thermal management.

The Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) has been the first redox flow battery to be commercialized and to bring light to the flow battery technology. In the latest update of the IDTechEx report, "Redox Flow Batteries 2021-2031", a substantial forward-looking approach has been assumed in forecasting the trend of adoption of this technology, with a multi-billion market size in 2031.

Here come 600-mile electric cars and they will grab market share even as city cars. At last, you will be able to buy a car that lets you vacation in it wherever you wish.