Many people were surprised when HiNa revealed their lineup of sodium-ion battery cells, as well as a prototype of an electric car, in February 2023. But it had been a long time coming. The low-cost Sehol E10X microcar uses a 25 kWh battery pack made from cylindrical sodium-ion cells from HiNa.

The sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars have largely stalled from 2021 onwards, but does this mean there is no market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the future, and what is required to make them a success?

The electrification of boats and ships has the potential to reshape communities around busy ports. Hybrid and electric ships have the potential to drastically improve air quality and reduce noise pollution while offering other key benefits to cities. Ships now have the potential to become a welcomed part of communities and a friend to the environment.

Ross and Rachel's relationship in the TV series Friends was characterized by its on-again, off-again nature, with the inevitability that they end up together in the end. Tesla started its full self-driving hardware with radar in 2016, it began the break-up with radar in 2021, and radar was removed from production entirely in 2021.

China is set to add 30 million new V2X-enabled vehicles to the road every year by 2034, according to IDTechEx's report, "Connected and Software-Defined Vehicles 2024-2034: Markets, Forecasts, Technologies", as part of a wider global trend that will see V2X technology become the standard in most vehicles.

Tuesday 30 January 2024 - An overview of the megatrends changing the automotive industry; Explanation of what hardware/services are associated with each trend; CAGR growth rates for each of these technologies; Hardware vs services, where the biggest opportunity is

Electric motors are a core component of electrification in the automotive market. The market has heavily relied on rare earths for the permanent magnets used in these motors, but, as many will be aware, there is a drive to eliminate these rare earths due to their price volatility and environmental impact. Alternative motor technologies can often present a new and increased demand for copper.

The automotive market is a huge industry, and its evolution has spawned several giant corporations with many sub-brands, many of which are household names. However, the automotive industry is arguably undergoing the greatest technological shifts it has ever seen. Electrification, autonomous driving, and a shift to software-defined vehicles.

Thursday 25 January 2024 - Materials for sodium-ion cell design; Sodium-ion battery value proposition; Opportunities and challenges in the sodium-ion battery market; Sodium-ion battery players and commercialisation efforts; IDTechEx outlook for sodium-ion batteries by 2030

Autonomous driving, electric vehicles, connected and software-defined vehicles, and in-cabin monitoring are all megatrends reshaping the automotive industry. Together, these technologies combine to form a US$1.6 trillion opportunity by 2034, nearly a 10-fold increase compared to 2023.

IDTechEx have launched a new monthly podcast, 'Tomorrow's Tech by IDTechEx', bringing you up to date technology trends. In each episode our host will interview an industry expert from IDTechEx, offering insights into a range of emerging technologies.

Major fleets have committed to transitioning at least 30% of their new heavy-duty truck purchases to be zero-emission vehicles, including electric models, by 2030. However, many companies are daunted by the extra upfront cost of electric trucks, as well as challenges like the limited availability of chargers.

Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries are being developed due to their potential costs, safety, sustainability, and performance characteristics over traditional lithium-ion batteries. These batteries can be made with widely available and inexpensive materials, with sodium being significantly more abundant than lithium.

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have made monumental progress in the passenger car market, becoming a standard drivetrain option. The success in cars is also overflowing into other vehicle segments, such as vans, trucks, buses, 2-wheelers, and more. However, despite some key proponents, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have had a much tougher time getting to significant adoption.

Thursday 18 January 2024 - This webinar will cover the market progress, opportunities, and future predictions for FCEVs across several vehicle segments, including: Cars; Light commercial vehicles; Trucks; and Buses

Wednesday 24 January - Locations of copper around modern and future vehicles; Copper utilisation in the electric powertrain: Impact of changing battery chemistries; Impact of changing motor technologies; Impact of emerging semiconductor technologies in the inverter; Overview of replacement threats from aluminium

Thursday 11 January 2024 - An overview of the regulations in Europe, China, USA, and Japan, and how the regulations affect the adoption rate of in-cabin sensing technologies; An analysis of different in-cabin sensing technologies; Commercial use cases and overview of players, including tier ones and tier twos; Market opportunities and market forecast overview

Tesla's recent recall could have cost it billions of dollars, but instead, an over-the-air software update was all that was required to fix an issue affecting over 2 million vehicles.

Living near a building site will no longer mean being woken up at the crack of dawn by such loud revving engines thanks to the electrification of construction vehicles. Future operators will soon be utilizing screens to control machines in a safer, calmer environment, and one day, machines could dig holes themselves as the industry advances and moves closer towards automation.

Due to rising labor costs and labor shortages, coupled with the surge in e-commerce and logistics demands, the mobile robotics market is rapidly expanding. IDTechEx's forecast indicates that the annual market size for mobile robotics in logistics and delivery is set to approach US$150 billion, marked by a robust double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next two decades.