Europeans won the Nobel Prize for their work on graphene but they are not necessarily winning on the commercial front. In fact, it is the Chinese who might overtake them.

Jetting binder on layers of plastic powder was originally developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1993. This binder-on-powder process was the first to be known as 3D Printing technology.

Graphene finds users in California (Our most exciting graphene conference so far).

IDTechEx 3D printing research has focussed on materials requirements for several years now, and this allows us to bring together some of the most knowledgeable people to talk about the state of the industry, new developments and future innovations across the whole spectrum of 3D Printing Materials.

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).

Large investments have been made to enable flexible, thin sensors rather than rigid sensors.

The 3D printing industry is still going from strength to strength. According to the IDTechEx report 3D Printing 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets, Players this industry is set to grow from $1bn in 2012 to $20bn in 2025.

Perovoskite photovoltaics promises over 20% efficiency, low cost materials and even flexible, transparent and stretchable versions dearly needed for new applications. Record power to weight ratio is needed for the electric vehicle end game, the land vehicles, boats and aircraft described in the IDTechEx report, Energy Independent Vehicles 2016-2026.

In 2020 flexible barrier manufacturing for flexible electronic devices such as displays will be a market worth more than US$184 million according to IDTechEx Research. That equates to 3.8 million square meters of flexible barrier films for electronics.

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

Core applications of PV and touch panels continue to grow demand, but new opportunities emerge in the form of wearable technology, circuit boards and structural electronics.

Energy harvesting is the creation of off-grid electricity where it is needed using ambient energy, from sunshine to vibration or temperature difference.

IDTechEx Research recently revised its forecast for OLED displays. Dr Guillaume Chansin, lead author of the IDTechEx report OLED Display Forecasts 2015-2025: The Rise of Plastic and Flexible Displays explains why.

Plastic 3D printing has its place in prototyping and education, but 3D printing in metal is being used to manufacture parts in a wide variety of industries. Metals are the fastest-growing segment of 3D printing, with printer sales growing at 48% and material sales growing at 32%, according to the brand new IDTechEx report 3D Printing of Metals 2015-2025.

This week LG Display announced that it will invest One Trillion Won for a flexible OLED display plant in Korea. Why?

Each year IDTechEx Research releases its up-to-date market report on graphene and related materials: Graphene and 2D Materials: Markets, Technologies and Opportunities 2015-2025.

The power electronics business as applied to electric vehicles is becoming so huge that very divergent approaches become viable.

At IDTechEx we have been closely following and analysing the nano-carbon areas including graphene and carbon nanotubes.

Overheating is the most critical issue in the computer industry.

By Raghu Das, CEO, IDTechEx - The 11th annual IDTechEx Printed Electronics Europe event in Berlin was a huge success thanks to our customers and partners, with attendees coming from 47 countries! This is the largest show on the topic in Europe and, more importantly, more adopters, OEMs and technology providers announced products and showed off their impressive solutions.