Research Articles

The new IDTechEx report, "Heavy-Duty Autonomous Vehicles 2023-2043: Trucks, Buses & Roboshuttles", has found significant activity in the autonomous heavy-duty and commercial vehicle space.

Despite the obstacles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and persistent supply chain disruptions, the additive manufacturing market continues to find new applications and end-users. IDTechEx forecasts that 3D printing's continued innovation and meaningful adoption will lead the hardware and consumables market to surpass US$41 billion by 2033.

Thursday 1 September 2022 - What is the value of bioplastics in a circular economy? What trends have shifted to drive bioplastic growth? What are the needs bioplastics must meet and pain points to solve? What is the outlook for bioplastics in the next decade?

The current iteration of Li-ion batteries, which are based on graphite anodes, liquid electrolytes, and cathode materials such as NMC and LFP, are generally considered to be reaching their performance limits. However, from cell materials to battery designs, there are still several routes that can lead to further improvements in performance and cost.

Thursday 25 August 2022 - Analysis of advanced semiconductor packaging markets and their mid-long-term opportunity; Key applications' growth drivers; Player analysis - the dynamics of advanced semiconductor packaging battleground; Advanced semiconductor packaging technologies - current challenges and innovative trends

With increasing scrutiny of the environmental impact of current building practices, the electrification of mobile construction machinery offers construction companies a relatively near-term opportunity to demonstrate their environmental credentials.

While 2022 continues to add to the challenges electric vehicle (EV) makers face, markets are still growing. Indeed, electric car sales for the first half of 2022 reached ~3.5 million, according to IDTechEx research.

The automotive industry and many robotics start-ups have been promising that autonomous cars are just a couple of years away for many years now. It feels like this "just a couple of years" has been perpetually kicked down the road, with only incremental gains each time. However, Cruise, the robotaxi arm of General Motors, has recently been given approval to start charging passengers in San Francisco. So, is this an enormous leap forward for robotaxis, or just another incremental gain?

With the ever-increasing interest in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles, adopting Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) is an important decision to reach higher vehicle autonomy and better safety. The lidar market for automotive applications will grow to US$8.4 billion by 2033, according to IDTechEx report "Lidar 2023-2033: Technologies, Players, Markets & Forecasts".

If the future were to be categorized in one word, it would be "data-centric". IC vendors have been pushed towards "advanced semiconductor packaging" to meet the world's data needs.

As bioplastic materials transition from being a "nice-to-have" to materials with a very strong, viable business case, manufacturers are racing to keep up with demand. With all this activity, IDTechEx forecasts global annual bioplastics production capacity to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% over the next ten years.

Thursday 11 August 2022 - The 2021 sales of zero-emission trucks and the addressable market; What zero-emission trucks need to deliver for commercial rollout; Key enabling technologies: batteries/motors/charging; The role of battery and fuel cell trucks; IDTechEx's outlook for zero-emission truck deployment