The end game with the 48V hybrid cars that will first appear in volume production in 2017 is having no 12V battery - just a beefy 48V one.

"The EV scene has changed radically in the last year," says Raghu Das CEO of IDTechEx, "and our forthcoming conference Electric Vehicles Everything is Changing will reflect that."

Printed and flexible electronics are beginning to proliferate, with a variety of components and devices coming to market. Several end-user verticals are expected to benefit from the host of advantages these technologies offer and the automotive sector is no exception.

The first industrial robot, Unimate, went into operation at a General Motors plant in 1961. Over the next few decades the use of industrial robot arms in the automotive industry matured.

Summary of the key information tracked during the Electric Vehicle conference held in Santa Clara USA.

Extreme vehicle concepts have a habit of appearing in a car near you.

Commercialization of solid-state battery indicates a new era for the US $135bn addressable battery market in a decade. IDTechEx Research forecasts that the market for solid-state batteries will exceed $4bn in 2026.

It is a no brainer. The ultimate vehicle by land water and air is independent in performance of task and in provision of its motive power.

Energy independent electric vehicles exist today and there is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for their new technology as it cascades down into all vehicles, land, water and air. The new report from analysts IDTechEx is a world first in revealing this exciting future for component and system suppliers, product integrators and system integrators.

At IDTechEx's forthcoming event, Electric Vehicles: Everything is Changing, taking place in Santa Clara on Nov 18-19, there will be many presentations on the next wave of battery technology for electric vehicles.

High power energy harvesting (HPEH) is the clean part of off-grid renewable energy and its main potential lies at kilowatts to megawatts. Few things are genuinely new in this world but newly important aspects of energy harvesting really matter.

Thought leaders IDTechEx were among the first to identify three new megatrends in the world of technology: Structural Electronics (SE); 3D Printed Electronics (3DPE); Energy Independent Electric Vehicles (EIVs).

The most dramatic new advances and visions have no name initially. So it is with electric vehicles that need no external charging or refuelling - no, not even wireless charging.

Forget the obsession with driverless autonomous cars; energy independent vehicles are the megatrend. Electric land vehicles, boats, underwater craft and aircraft already exist that never plug in or refuel.

Small manned electric vehicles - e-bikes to car-like micro EVs - often sell in the largest numbers. Although they are usually lower in cost than regular cars, they will reach over $33 billion in 2026 according to IDTechEx analysis.

High Power Energy Harvesting (HPEH) is a term beginning to be used for creation of electricity where it is needed using ambient "free" energy. That zero-pollution, high-energy conversion typically captures light (photovoltaics), heat difference (thermoelectrics and heat pumps) and movement (electrodynamics).

IDTechEx Research's brand new report analyses and forecasts the wireless charging market for electric vehicles and small electronics.

A trillion dollar opportunity to 2035, electric buses are being completely reinvented because they are the electric vehicle sector already attracting billion dollar orders and they can prevent millions of deaths and injuries from air pollution.

It seems obvious; energy harvesting is intermittent, so combine different types to make it continuous and therefore much more useful.

Plenty of kilowatts from no fuel. This dream ticket is a reality today from the rapid adoption of high power energy harvesting. Energy harvesting converts ambient energy into electricity where it is needed, off-grid.