IDTechEx Analyst Dr Na Jiao attended The China International Battery Fair (CIBF), the first legal international battery fair in the Chinese battery industry, which is held every two years.

IDTechEx attended the event last week to meet with key stakeholders including industrial OEMs, power module manufacturers, established semiconductor companies and innovative GaN (gallium nitride and SiC (silicon carbide) developers to report back on the current and future trends.

RFBs have the potential to become a mainstream technology that will compete directly with lithium-ion and sodium-sulphur, currently the two leading chemistries in the stationary storage market.

The previous article looked at material opportunities for thermal management and this article looks at the additional componentry.

This two-part series will look at some of the materials opportunities emerging in electric vehicle for both batteries and other componentry. This information will be taking highlights from two recent trade shows: Foam Expo (Novi, USA) and The Battery Show co-located with Electric and hybrid vehicle technology expo.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 14 June titled Redox Flow Batteries for Stationary Storage.

Redox flow batteries are an energy storage technology initially developed by NASA in the 70's for space applications. After several years of intensive R&D, in 2006, several key patents on the technology expired, opening up the arena to companies all around the world.

Autonomous mobility, in the general public's eye, is now synonymous with cars. Whilst this might be the largest ultimate prize, it is by no means the only commercial manifestation of this technology. Indeed, as the IDTechEx Research report New Robotics and Drones 2018-2038: Technologies, Forecasts, Players demonstrates, numerous autonomous mobile robots are being commercialized in applications where there is (a) a clear commercial purpose and (b) a more structured and predictable environment.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 31 May titled 48V Mild Hybrid Vehicles.

In a recent press release, Volvo Trucks has unveiled its first all-electric truck for commercial use - the Volvo FL Electric. This piece of news is but the first in a series of announcements that started in November 2017 with the Tesla Semi, and has since seen other industry players like Daimler, Cummins, and emerging companies like Nikola present the advantages of converting the trucking industry from diesel engines to electric powertrains.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 24 May titled Robots and drones: How everything is changing.

Here the IDTechEx analysts in attendance present a commentary on the show's highlights in their respective fields of research

In this article, we will describe the upcoming transformation in the world of robotics. This analysis is drawn from our report New Robotics and Drones 2018-2038: Technologies, Forecasts, Players

This article provides an overview of the development of electric vehicles over the next twenty years.

The robotic industry is looking for the next big opportunity that could one day rival the automotive sector in size. It may have found its answer in the logistic and material handling sector. In this article we will focus on the use of mobile robots in automating the goods-to-person step in logistics and material handling.

As mines age and operations continue to extract lower ore grades at deeper levels, a focal shift to increased productivity, efficiency and improved safety continues

Summary of an International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) White Paper

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 10 May titled Electric Vehicles and Autonomous Vehicles in Mining 2018-2028.

Single crystal silicon photovoltaics will now be very affordable, obsoleting polycrystalline Si PV by having efficiency much higher. Laminating it onto supercapacitor sheeting will form a load bearing material that both makes and stores electricity, delivering it exceptionally fast when needed.

Agriculture is facing major long-term challenges. Some forecasts suggest that world population is set to grow by 2.3 billion by 2050. This, together with rising global income levels that typically increase food demand per capital, would require raising food production in 2050 by 70% compared to 2005 levels.