White biotechnology, which uses engineered microbes to produce chemicals, materials, and fuels, is emerging as a key driver of the sustainable bioeconomy by offering lower-carbon alternatives to fossil-based manufacturing. Advances in genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and regulatory support are expanding their applications across industries, though commercial success depends on factors like scalability, process efficiency, and market acceptance of green premiums.

Due to the growing concerns surrounding the health of humans and the environment as a result of PFAS, regulations are being put in place worldwide. While many countries still have no restrictions on PFAS usage, other countries, specifically within the EU, are potentially facing a universal PFAS ban.

Thursday 8 May 2025 - Surviving the Heat, Heat Shields for Atmospheric Re-Entry in an Increasingly Commercial Space Industry; Outline the role and function of TPS; Delineate the key categories of TPS, from tile-based systems to ablators and hypersonic expandable decelerators; Examine the key requirements of TPS, from a technical and economic perspective, as well as emerging use-cases; Give a brief outlook for the market over the next decade

Wednesday 7 May 2025 - Green Steel Market: Key Drivers, Production Pathways, Innovations, and Offtake Sectors; Overview of the iron and steel supply chain, including low-carbon and green steel; Key drivers for the steel decarbonization and the green steel market, including policies and incentives in key regions; Key innovations in iron and steel production technology; Main sectors adopting green steel and a market outlook

This article analyzes the significant impact of recent US tariffs on the EV charging market, affecting both the physical charging equipment and the broader electrical infrastructure required to support it.

The environment often pays a price for the comforts of modern life. Every year on Earth Day, the world reflects on pathways towards a greener economy that promotes resource circularity and a lower carbon footprint.

Self-healing concrete aims to mitigate economic losses caused by corrosion and degradation of concrete, such as the need for repair or replacement, maintenance costs, and disruptions caused by downtime. Bacteria-based approaches are leading the way for self-healing concrete.

Advanced carbon materials can be described as a family, made up of a diverse array of 3D, 2D, 1D, and 0D materials, each with its own properties and best-suited applications. IDTechEx's research provides in-depth analysis of the market impact of each material type, and their individual use cases from high-end sporting goods to R&D materials that are beginning to mature.

Aerogel demand for EV fire protection grew by 15-fold between 2021 and 2024, according to IDTechEx, with key manufacturers shifting towards leveraging the growing aerogel manufacturing capacity in China to meet demand. But, with the US imposing tariffs on China and other global partners, what does this mean for the aerogels market?

Fire safety continues to be a key topic for electric vehicles (EVs) as the market continues to grow. In this article, IDTechEx discusses the different types of EV battery chemistry and its impact on thermal runaway safety.

Recycling plastics from the automotive sector and reusing them in vehicle manufacturing processes will be critical in reducing resource consumption and the use of unsustainable plastics.

The EU has revised its End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive, lowering recycled plastic targets from 25% to 20% due to supply chain limitations, while maintaining stricter rules on recyclability, producer responsibility, and vehicle exports. IDTechEx forecasts that automakers will still face major hurdles, including limited material availability, high costs, and fragmented supply chains, in meeting these goals by 2035.

Battery raw materials are in the spotlight as lithium-ion demand surges alongside growing emphasis on sustainability. Variations in material emission intensities suggest that major decarbonization opportunities exist in raw materials sourcing.

The space economy is growing rapidly, driven by commercial operations with lower costs. Thermal protection systems enable spacecraft to endure the extreme environments of atmospheric entry, but how will developments in this industry impact the broader space economy?

Although there have been several unsuccessful attempts to commercialize MOFs historically, the design flexibility and structural versatility of MOFs have attracted widespread interest in numerous applications in recent years, many of which are nearing commercialization. With a projected 30-fold market growth by 2035, this article offers an in-depth look at how MOFs are reshaping the future of carbon capture, water harvesting, chemical and gas separations, and beyond.

Conventional printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing is wasteful, harmful to the environment and energy intensive. This can be mitigated by the implementation of new recyclable materials and technologies, which have the potential to revolutionize electronics manufacturing.

Ion exchange membranes are crucial materials used as solid electrolytes in green hydrogen and energy storage technologies. Rising demand and material manufacturing innovations are set to define the ion exchange membrane market over the next decade, which IDTechEx predicts will exceed US$2.9B in value by 2035.

With the USA importing up to 80% of its raw silver, imposed tariffs will dramatically affect the technology landscape for conductive inks. This article assesses emerging alternative inks and the required ink properties for specific applications.

Thursday 17 April 2025; Self-Healing Materials: Commercial Success or Academic Novelty? An introduction to self-healing materials and mechanisms; Materials science considerations for self-healing materials; Assessment of the applications driving self-healing materials R&D and the likelihood of commercial success

This article outlines a dual strategy to address PFAS contamination; regulating PFAS production and usage to prevent further environmental release, and deploying advanced treatment technologies to eliminate existing PFAS pollution.