Energy Storage

Thursday 4 November 2021 - $160 Billion Market by 2042. Includes what makes fuel cells an attractive technology pathway; overview of FCEV deployment in passenger cars, LCV, trucks, and buses; challenges facing FCEV deployment; and an overview of IDTechEx's independent 20-year forecasts for FCEV

Digital transformation is the buzzword in every sector; materials science and chemistry R&D is behind the curve but certainly no exception. The prospects are, of course, very attractive, but the reality far, far harder. This article looks at the status of this transformation, the enabling solutions, and those unresolved pain points.

Think of a temperature sensor - and a traditional glass thermometer, or perhaps a small thermistor would probably spring to mind. However, a new class of temperature sensors is rapidly emerging that offers spatial resolution together with a thin-film format.

Ideas have moved on from a smart city being a dystopian world of sensors everywhere and people control by artificial intelligence - smart cities are primarily about progressing to water, food, and power independence and minimal transport. How to make smart cities in both deserts and the sea must be figured out.

For electric vehicles (EVs), efficiency is the name of the game. In the past few years, we have started to see wide bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) adopted in EV inverters to replace the typical silicon insulated-gate bipolar transistors (Si IGBTs).

Incorporating a fuel cell into an electric vehicle powertrain, generating electricity from hydrogen, offers a technology pathway that delivers the critical reduction in on-road exhaust emissions whilst overcoming the potential range and charging limitations of battery electric vehicles (BEV). IDTechEx's analysis in their new report, "Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles 2022-2042", forecasts the market value of on-road fuel cell vehicles will grow to $160 billion in 2042 at a CAGR of 23.9% over the 20-year forecast period.

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?