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.

In-mold electronics enables electronic functionality to be embedded within molded and thermoformed plastic components. With the integration of capacitive touch, lighting, and even haptics alongside size and weight reductions of up to 70%, IME is an efficient approach to making curved touch-sensitive interfaces. Given these benefits, IDTechEx forecasts IME to be a $1.5 billion market by 2032, with applications mainly within the automotive and consumer goods sectors.

5G is paving the way for a fully digitalized and connected world. The past two years have seen many new field trials and an accelerating number of commercial rollouts. Moreover, 5G is starting to be adopted in a wide range of industries, from manufacturing to healthcare.

Printed and flexible sensors constitute the largest printed electronics market outside of displays. Indeed, we forecast that the market for fully printed sensors will reach 4.9 billion by 2032.

Concrete is the second most consumed substance on the planet, trailing only potable water. Cement production - an essential ingredient for concrete - alone contributes to 7% of global anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As the world will see the building stock double in size by 2050, pressure for the cement industry to decarbonize has risen swiftly.

6G Communications promises between ten to one hundred times the download speed for operating unpowered devices, remote holographic surgery and much more, but it will depend on how high a frequency is chosen and how much infrastructure investment is made.

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".

In their new report "3D Printing Ceramics 2022-2032: Technology and Market Outlook", IDTechEx forecasts the ceramic 3D printing industry to grow 7-fold to $400M by 2032. Given how young the market is, seven-fold growth in the next 10 years indicates a positive future for the industry.

Thursday 16 September 2021 - Why are the most popular applications being added beyond today's popular microwave frequencies for deployed metamaterials? Why will sophisticated metasurfaces be essential for planned terahertz 6G communications, transforming your mobile phone and much more?

Join the IDTechEx Webinar Thursday 9 September 2021 - An introduction for Electrically conductive adhesives; A summary of different competing die attach technologies; The main applications of ECAs; The main materials used for ECAs; and A summary of the growing and changing market for ECAs.

Thermoelectrics is a business impeded by the use of the toxic rare metal Tellurium. Commendably, there is a trend to alternatives in research but few volume sales as yet in any of the three uses. These are energy harvesting to make electricity where it is needed and the more successful cooling and heating, those last two constituting very-reliable, solid heat pumps.

Thursday 2 September - 5G small cells overview (players analysis, product benchmark, technologies trend, technology benchmark); How digital transformation of our society will be realized by 5G small cells; How 5G small cells are compared to other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi 6; 5G small cell market and the future outlook

Metamaterials are added-value materials. The IDTechEx report, "Metamaterial and Metasurface Markets Electromagnetic 2022-2042" helps you prosper by making and deploying them everywhere. Who should you partner with, emulate or buy?

Additive manufacturing of composites is approaching an inflection point. In their new report "3D Printing Composites 2021-2031: Technology and Market Analysis", IDTechEx forecast the market to reach $2bn by 2031.

The development of new technology often creates new opportunities to provide value to customers in new products. Electronic textiles have hundreds of potential use cases, many of which are being explored by different companies around the world. So where is the "killer app" for e-textiles?

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.

IDTechEx have recently launched "Electrically Conductive Adhesives (ECAs) 2022-2032", a market research report detailing the technology of ECAs, a form of conductive joining technology. Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are a growing competitor to lead-free solders and silver sintering technologies, and currently see use in several electronics applications, such as automotive electronics, consumer electronics, and display applications.