Thursday 6 June 2024 - Construction, Agriculture and Mining: Specialised Machines Require Specialised Batteries; Machine electrification in different CAM markets; Battery sizing and performance requirements across electric CAM machines; Cycle life requirements across different CAM machines; Upcoming battery technologies and how they fit in with the needs of electric CAM machines

Maximizing energy density has been one key area of focus in electric vehicle battery development. Optimizations in cell and battery pack designs, alongside the use of higher nickel NMC and NCA cathodes, have led to steady improvement in battery energy density over the past 10-15 years.

Green hydrogen production utilizes four main electrolyzer technologies: alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), proton exchange membrane (PEM), anion exchange membrane (AEM), and solid oxide electrolyzers (SOEC). Each technology has its own operational principles, performance characteristics, and commercial maturity.

Construction, agriculture, and mining (CAM) machine OEMs have recently started their electrification journey. Over the next 10 years, IDTechEx predicts strong growth in this market, driven by the falling price of batteries and the total cost of ownership benefits that electric machines provide. As such, a new battery market will be created, one that IDTechEx's new "Battery Markets in Construction, Agriculture & Mining Machines 2024-2034" report finds will grow to a value of US$7.8 billion at a 10-year CAGR of 27.1% and with an annual demand of more than 50GWh in 2034.

Sodium-ion batteries are beginning to become increasingly relevant in 2024 after many mass production announcements were made in 2023. OEMs may look to alternative chemistries to reduce reliance on critical minerals with potentially volatile supply chains. NMC(A) batteries are currently the leading battery chemistry in Europe and the UK, while LFP dominates in China.

Thursday 23 May 2024 - An overview of metal-organic frameworks and their emerging applications; Scaling MOF production for industrial applications; Considerations of production cost and selling price of MOFs; Examples of MOF-based point source carbon capture and direct air capture solutions and comparisons with incumbent technology; Outlook for MOFs in carbon capture including opportunities and challenges

Wednesday 15 May 2024 - Next generation anode materials such as silicon, lithium and anode-free designs; Innovations in cathode active materials and their manufacture; Important cell and pack design changes and trends; Key cost and resource consideration from advanced Li-ion battery chemistries; IDTechEx's outlook for advanced Li-ion technology

Over the last three to four years, the driverless robotaxi industry has begun to flourish. Driverless services are coming online in multiple cities across the US and China. IDTechEx's recent report, "Future Automotive Technologies 2024-2034: Applications, Megatrends, Forecasts", predicts that the driverless robotaxi industry will be generating over US$470 billion annually through services in 2034.

As the volume of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources penetrating electricity grids increases globally, so does the need to manage the increasing uncertainty and variability in electricity supply. Long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies will be key in supporting electricity grids with greater penetrations of VRE over the coming decades. However, while many of the LDES technologies are likely to be cheaper than Li-ion batteries, on a US$/kWh basis at longer durations of storage, they will need to generate revenues from multiple sources in order to be profitable.

With the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market and a focus on the importance of safety, EV fire protection brings a large opportunity for material suppliers. In this article by Dr James Edmondson, Research Director here at IDTechEx, we share some of these opportunities including those outside of the automotive market, along with some challenges for material suppliers in this space and findings from recent industry events.

IDTechEx, a trusted provider of independent market intelligence, announces the availability of a new market report, "Battery Markets in Construction, Agriculture & Mining Machines 2024-2034". The report forecasts battery demand for off-highway industries will be worth nearly US$8 billion in 2034.

Thursday 9 May 2024 - Demand and key drivers for industrial thermal energy storage; Thermal energy storage technology overview including working principles, technology considerations (cost, materials, round-trip efficiency, etc.), ETES, TCES, and commercial readiness of these technologies; Key existing and emerging thermal energy storage applications; Market overview and key projects; IDTechEx's outlook and conclusions

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) has prevailed as the most widely deployed and commercialized RFB chemistry over the last decade; despite this, the volume of their installations for stationary energy storage applications is still minimal compared to the incumbent Li-ion battery, but is this set to change?

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of materials with exceptionally high porosity and surface area (up to 7000m2/g). The design flexibility and structural versatility afforded by MOFs have attracted widespread interest in numerous applications, albeit with several unsuccessful attempts to commercialize the materials historically.

Energy is a universally familiar concept, but how it is stored may not be. Battery innovation underpins many sectors, including electric vehicles, sustainability, and renewable energy. Research Director Alex Holland explains how the market is set for greater success in the near future, with innovation in battery technology set to play a key role in this success.

Nuclear SMRs offer a powerful tool for decarbonization, with Gen IV reactor design-based SMRs offering uses beyond supplying to the grid directly. This article by IDTechEx outlines some of the ways SMRs can work within the energy ecosystem, including decarbonizing industries, producing "pink hydrogen", and offering a potential solution to the data center energy crisis.

At the end of February 2024, the UK ran its second Hydrogen Week. During this week, Hyundai set two new records for the driving range of its fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). While certainly a significant achievement, will the ultimate range of FCEVs impact consumer opinions and adoption?

There is undoubtedly a huge push to build global DC fast-charging networks. The US government is providing more than $5 billion in funding and incentives as part of the NEVI program to build a coast-to-coast fast charging network, and many countries in Europe are rolling out similar programs following the AFIR regulations to spur EV charging infrastructure growth. 2024 will be a big year for EV charging, but, as IDTechEx discuss in this article, there's more to the story.

IDTechEx announces the availability of a new report, "Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) 2024-2034: Market, Technology, and Players". This comprehensive market report offers an independent analysis of metal-organic frameworks trends and considers applications of MOFs for carbon capture, water harvesting, chemical separation and purification, and several other early-stage technologies.

IDTechEx forecast the market for lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells to be worth US$380 billion by 2034, driven by advancements in technology and rapidly growing demand. While Li-ion batteries have been the dominant technology for electronic devices, electric vehicles (EV), and stationary energy storage systems, alternative battery technologies and chemistries continue to garner interest.