The US' nascent lithium production capacity makes use of direct lithium extraction technologies to localize and secure battery supply chains. However, with political tensions around Greenland rising, this article explores how the recent discovery of hard rock lithium deposits in the region could reshape American lithium production.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales continue to grow globally, with passenger cars primarily driving the growth. EV performance is fundamentally tied to EV batteries, at cell- and pack-level. As new EV sectors are unlocked and performance targets are reached, trends in material demand across cell and pack components emerge. This article explores material trends in EV cathodes, anodes and packs that underscore the EV market as a whole.

Celebrating Chinese New Year 2026: IDTechEx Highlights Rising UK Engagement with Chinese Automakers and Asia-Pacific Industry Collaboration

Grid-scale energy storage (ES) markets are dominated by pumped hydro storage (PHS) and Li-ion battery energy storage systems (BESS). The reducing costs of Li-ion technologies continues to create challenges for other energy and battery storage technologies, such as redox flow batteries (RFBs) to penetrate short-duration grid-scale markets. However, the different demands of emerging applications such as data centers and long duration energy storage could be key for RFB developers to target. This article from IDTechEx examines the future strategies and considerations for flow battery developers and emerging applications.

Join IDTechEx Principal Technology Analyst Conrad Nichols on Tuesday 17th February for this expert webinar "Battery Storage Trends in Data Centers and Commercial & Industrial Applications". Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

IDTechEx analyst Conrad Nichols discusses the role of batteries in data centers.

In this brief video Senior Technology Analyst Pranav Jaswani covers the advancement of direct lithium extraction processes.

Join IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Pranav Jaswani on Thursday 29th January for this expert webinar "Direct Lithium Extraction: Reshaping Global Lithium Supply Through Efficiency & Sustainability". Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) technology is the most commercially deployed flow battery chemistry. However, high electrolyte costs have inhibited the wider market penetration of the technology, especially since Li-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) costs continue to fall. Vanadium electrolyte leasing models may help to reduce upfront cost to some degree, though the commercialization of cheaper, alternative flow battery chemistries will also drive global flow battery market growth. This article examines the current state of VRFBs and the evolving commercialization of alternative redox flow battery (RFB) technologies.

The growth of Li-ion batteries creates surging demand for lithium, but there is an increasing need for extraction methods that are efficient, sustainable, and versatile across different environments and regions. This article highlights how the emergence of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies will allow producers to satisfy these needs while scaling up to meet global lithium demand in the coming decade.

Global battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments continue to be deployed at a rapid pace, with surging deployments seen especially in grid-scale markets. Giant Li-ion BESS players dominate this market leaving untapped opportunities for smaller players to exploit in commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors, behind-the-meter (BTM). However, operating in this underappreciated market can be complex, given the vast end-use applications and changing regional drivers. This article highlights the emerging demand for C&I BESS technologies.

BESS developers are adopting various passive and active thermal management materials and technologies to improve the safety of their Li-ion BESS technologies. By understanding the root causes and impacts of BESS failure, battery storage players and regulators can target Li-ion BESS technology development with a greater targeted purpose, putting an emphasis on safety to reduce fire and explosion risk. A key pathway to address Li-ion BESS failures could also be with large-scale fire testing (LSFT).

IDTechEx forecasts that the critical material recovery market value will exceed US$66 billion per year by 2046, as demand, waste volume, and regulatory pressures all grow. Lithium-ion batteries and rare earth magnets are set to become key secondary sources of critical materials, as commercially mature recycling technology capacity scales in anticipation of growing waste volume becoming available in the 2030's.

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) are maturing into early deployment, and with that maturity comes a practical question: what happens at end of life? Recycling is an important starting point for thinking about sustainability and materials security in SSBs, but it is only a small piece of a much larger transition. This article outlines why recycling matters, where it sits in the bigger picture, and how the IDTechEx report "Solid State Batteries 2026-2036: Technology, Forecasts, Players" can guide decisions beyond circularity alone.

IDTechEx analyst Conrad Nichols summarises the latest progress of Redox Flow batteries.

The article explains some of the benefits that adoption of new advanced coating technologies can bring. This can come both in terms of higher performance, as well as supporting both direct and indirect regulatory compliance. These benefits can be brought to several industries, such as automotive, oil & gas, aerospace, construction and wind energy.

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices that offer distinct properties when compared to batteries. Supercapacitors have higher power density and lower energy density than batteries. They also have a significantly larger cycle lifetime, in the tens of thousands, which enables them to undergo frequent charge-discharge cycles without degradation. This allows them to perform in applications where batteries are not appropriate. IDTechEx covers supercapacitors in detail in its recent report: "Supercapacitors 2026-2036: Technologies, Applications and Forecasts".

Thermal management has an imperative role to play in the landscape of advancing modern technologies. This article explores applications from high-performance computing and data centers to advanced batteries in electric vehicles.

IDTechEx analyst Dr Xiaoxi He covers solid-state battery technologies and their outlook.

BYD's recent disclosure via its FinDreams Battery website marks a visible inflection point for solid-state batteries (SSBs): the technology is moving from quiet development into structured demonstration timelines and supply-chain repositioning, with distinct materials choices that diverge from other leading OEM routes. This momentum, alongside public road tests and pilot-line progress across the US, Europe, and Asia, suggests SSBs are entering early deployment while broader automotive integration is targeted later this decade.