Efficiency is the key goal of electric vehicle development. This is especially true of power electronics, where one increasingly adopted approach is to integrate multiple functions into the same package. For automotive OEMs, this can result in reductions in overall weight to increase the efficiency of the vehicle while also reducing the cost of production.

Electrification is tough. It has taken around 15 years to convince car owners that battery power is a viable alternative to their fossil fuel comfort blanket. In the construction, agriculture, and mining industries, electrification is an even steeper uphill battle. In these industries, if a machine runs out of battery, the operators will soon start losing money.

By 2044, it is expected that the global trucking fleet will be supported by an additional half a million L4 autonomous drivers, while the remaining drivers will either act as supervisors or work in less developed regions. The autonomous truck industry is projected to have an annual growth rate of 25.6% over the next 20 years.

IDTechEx expects the printed and flexible sensor market to reach US$960 million by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.6%. Being connected to infrastructure systems or partnering with suppliers and distributors will help printed sensors take off, alongside their ability to be available at scale, robust, and have long product lifetimes.

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are composed of thermal fillers and matrix materials. Thermal fillers are highly thermally conductive substances, while matrix materials are typically used to enhance mechanical properties.

Fuel cell electric vehicles, Li-ion battery-powered cars, and carbon dioxide removal strategies all work to reduce global CO2 emissions. IDTechEx has a multitude of sustainability reports that give outlooks on the shared efforts of various sectors to reduce CO2 emissions in the air, to promote a cleaner way forward.

Thursday 25 July 2024 - The Definite Future of Land Logistics: Autonomous Trucks Replacing Drivers. Comprehensive analysis of industry challenges and solutions; In-depth market dynamics and commercialization factors; Detailed TCO analysis and future market outlook

Thursday 18 July 2024 - EV thermal system architecture and fluids used; Battery thermal management and trends; Motor thermal management and trends; Future refrigerants; Outlook for fluid content and forecasts

Electric buses are booming, with sales growing in Europe, America, India, and other key regions. Transport operators have shown themselves keen to electrify urban transport and cut greenhouse gas emissions. As emissions regulations tighten, city buses are likely to be all-electric within the next few years.

First came the eVTOL hype, followed by startups, investments, prototypes, and vertiport planning. Now, designs are being refined, and type certification is progressing. Battery and hydrogen fuel cell R&D are at their peak. eVTOL pilot training plans are forming, and vertiport construction is starting worldwide.

Thursday 11 July 2024 - SiC, GaN, and the Evolution of Power Electronics. In this webinar, IDTechEx will summarize the current market landscape concerning the wide bandgap semiconductors SiC and GaN and other EV power electronics market trends.

With the trend from Si IGBT to SiC MOSFET in electric vehicle (EV) power electronics, the junction temperature is expected to increase from 150°C to 175°C with the potential to exceed 200°C. This brings significant challenges for thermal management.

Electric vehicles, much like combustion vehicles, require a suite of fluids in order to operate optimally. However, the quantities and properties of these fluids can be quite different. With a strongly growing EV market, this presents a large opportunity for not just fluid suppliers but also fluid additives and fluid handling component suppliers.

Wednesday 26 June 2024 - Introduction and historical sales for the global electric bus market; Key players and emerging market trends; Developments in battery and motor technology, and their impacts on electric buses; Market outlook

Thursday 27 June 2024 - Comprehensive Overview of Thermal Interface Materials: Trends and Developments; An overview of thermal interface materials by TIM form; TIMs in EV battery packs: Trends of TIM's thermal conductivity and property trend; TIMs in EV power electronics: TIM1 (die-attach technologies) and TIM2 overview; TIMs in data centers: TIM opportunities with the transition to liquid cooling; TIMs in 5G TIMs in ADAS; TIMs in consumer electronics

In 2008, the commercialization of the silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET marked a major turning point for the power semiconductor market, representing its first significant development in decades. This technology was pioneered in electric vehicles (EVs) with the 2017 Tesla Model 3. The SiC MOSFET is a transistor that promises high power density, greater efficiency, and is less fallible to high temperatures.

One of the main reasons that electrification is so appealing in any industry is the reduction in operating costs offered by electric machines. This is especially true across the construction, agriculture, and mining (CAM) industries. Large machines with high uptimes, like mining haul trucks, can consume millions of dollars in fuel over their lifetime.

In April 2024, global energy, technology, and utility provider Hitachi Energy announced a US$1.5 billion investment program to ramp up global transformer production by 2027. IDTechEx's research into electrical grids indicates that transformers are a critical component and potential supply bottleneck for large-scale grid upgrades. These upgrades are essential as society shifts from a transportation sector fuelled by petrochemicals transported in tankers to a sector powered by electricity carried by wires.

Creating a circular economy is an essential sustainability target for numerous stakeholders in the supply chain: governments, brands, suppliers, and consumers. A key element of this is reducing plastic waste; the OECD estimated that over 350 million metric tonnes of plastic waste was generated globally in 2019

Thermal management for EV power electronics has long posed significant challenges. The ongoing shift from Si IGBT and SiC MOSFET to potentially GaN HEMT in the future results in higher junction temperatures and increased demand for die-attach materials in EV power modules. In traditional Si IGBT power modules, die-attach materials like Pb95Sn5 and Pb92.5Sn5Ag2.5 struggle to meet reliability requirements for packaging power devices in high-temperature applications due to creep-fatigue concerns.