Global sales for electric cars will reach 69 million by 2045 - IDTechEx offers expert-led insights on this evolving market based on unique information from industry leaders.

AI is placed to reshape the battery supply chain over the next few years, with machine learning providing powerful tools for cell developers, materials suppliers, battery users, and even recyclers. IDTechEx Technology Analyst shares more on how valuable data can finally be used to its full effect.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales continued to increase in 2024, admittedly with some significant regional disparity, but IDTechEx found that globally, EV sales increased 24% in 2024 over 2023. Despite the fact that most data shows EV fires are less common than combustion engine vehicles, safety cannot be overlooked in any rate of occurrence. This article aims to discuss some of the key factors and some of the potential materials that EV battery designers may consider.

Despite the large increase in EV adoption, EV battery designers still face a great deal of challenges. For material players within the EV supply chain, there are several routes to supporting EV battery designers with these challenges and differentiating their offerings. This article covers the primary and secondary targets for EV battery designers and some of the ways that materials suppliers can support them.

Lithium extraction encompasses a number of methods, depending on specific feedstock or source, and is becoming a widely valued technology as the demand for lithium is on the rise. Most of this demand will, in turn, come from demand for battery electric cars and vehicles.

The stationary fuel cell market is set to reach US$8bn by 2035. In this short video, IDTechEx Technology Analyst Maia Benstead talks through the dominant technologies, the alternatives competing for market share and the application areas for stationary fuel cells.

The battery industry is facing increasing pressure to develop new chemistries and materials to keep up with rising energy density and sustainability demands. The traditional materials discovery process is both expensive and time-consuming. Machine learning methods, specifically materials informatics, could provide a necessary avenue for accelerating the battery development process.

As electric vehicles (EVs) become the norm, charging infrastructure must adapt to meet the diverse needs of drivers everywhere. In this short video, IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Shazan Siddiqi breaks down the key charging technologies shaping the future.

With growing concerns over energy security due to rising power demands and greater decarbonization targets, stationary fuel cells have garnered attention as alternative green power generation devices. But with various sectors aiming for decarbonization, which fuel cells will fit the mark, and which applications will be key to their success?

A free collection of insights from our industry experts, sharing some of the key technology innovation trends shaping the next decade.

The growing availability of retired EV batteries will be a critical factor that will influence the growing penetration of second-life battery storage technologies. However, key considerations related to EV battery chemistry and repurposing processes will dictate how techno-economically feasible it will be to develop and deploy these technologies at commercial-scale and how competitive they will be compared to incumbent first-life Li-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The aviation industry encompasses a diverse range of aircraft types and sizes, each with unique use cases and vastly different power and energy requirements. In this brief video, Dr. James Jeffs, Principal Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, explains more about what this means for the future of sustainable aviation.

By far, the biggest factor that determines the range and cost of an electric car is the battery. The now ubiquitous lithium-ion battery comes in a variety of chemistries. The first commercialized Li-ion batteries were lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), which remains the chemistry of choice in portable electronic devices, but the quest for a higher range has led to a search for new chemistries.

While EV market growth has slowed down, particularly in Europe and the US since 2023, China has maintained uptake and is currently the largest single market for EVs in the world. The new energy vehicle (NEV) market in China sees PHEV cars driving this strong growth in the future, with the market share for PHEVs having nearly doubled from 2023 to H1 2024.

This article discusses the changes in battery pack design that impact which cell chemistries can be used in a commercially viable way. An overview is given for future adoption of new cell chemistries such as LMFP and solid state batteries, and how pack structure will impact their applicability.

There has been a slowdown in the growth of EV sales in Europe and North America. There are numerous reasons for this, including a lack of models and a difficult economic environment, but better and cheaper batteries and higher-performing EVs remain critical to convincing consumers to purchase them. Longer ranges, faster charging times and stable performance in colder weather could be important to accelerating the outlook for BEVs, and Li-ion batteries using silicon-based anodes offer one route to achieving this.

Wednesday 22 January 2025 - An overview of materials used in battery cells and battery packs; Trends in cathode chemistry and anode materials; Battery pack designs: cell-to-pack and cell-to-body; The impact on pack materials including thermal management, composite/polymer enclosures, interconnects and insulation

Second-life battery storage technologies are struggling to be a cost-competitive technology against first-life Li-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS). In their report on the topic, "Second-life Electric Vehicle Batteries 2025-2035: Markets, Forecasts, Players, and Technologies", IDTechEx explores various means for repurposers to generate revenue within the sector including renting systems and incentivizing automotive OEMs to share revenues.

IDTechEx reports positive growth of Li-ion batteries to be expected over the coming years, largely due to policy, technological improvements, and demand in major sectors such as the EV market and stationary energy storage.

Copper has been used in cars for as long as vehicles have had electrically powered features. Its main use today is as the vehicle's central nervous system, connecting a network of sensors, actuators, displays, and more to the vehicle's ECU brains. As cars evolve and utilize more electronic components, the demand for wiring will inevitably increase.