Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have rapidly scaled from laboratory production to a high-volume, critical additive in lithium-ion batteries, driving global capacity expansion and industry consolidation while putting downward pressure on material costs. Beyond energy storage, falling prices and increasing production open opportunities for CNTs in cost-sensitive applications, where they will compete with other advanced nanocarbons such as carbon black.

There are growing market opportunities globally for both incumbent and emerging gas separation membrane materials. In this article, IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Eve Pope explores three emerging materials for gas separation membranes.

As demand for critical rare earths, semiconductors, and battery materials grows amid increasing supply uncertainty, waste and other secondary feedstocks are emerging as key sources for critical material recovery. IDTechEx forecasts that 8,150 ktonnes of critical materials will be recovered from waste annually by 2046, driven by strategic reshoring of critical material supply chains, maturation of key recycling technologies, and the growing value recoverable from waste.

Join IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst Yulin Wang on Thursday 2nd October for 'Thermal Interface Materials: TIM1, TIM1.5, TIM2 - 3.2x market size increase from 2025 to 2036', a webinar that will dive deep into the evolving world of TIMs, exploring how these materials are shaping the future of thermal management across diverse applications. Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times during the day.

Conductive additives are essential materials in the construction of Li-ion cells. This article highlights how advanced carbons, such as carbon nanotubes and graphene, are disrupting the Li-ion conductive additive market with their enhanced performance at lower loading quantities.

Watch this short IDTechEx video to learn about refrigerant trends, emerging material solutions and car refrigerant demand through to 2036.

This article discusses some of the potential applications of advanced coatings technologies. Coatings are a vital tool in a multitude of industries globally. Find out more in IDTechEx's latest report, 'Advanced Coatings 2026-2036: Market, Technologies, Players'.

This new report "Critical Material Recovery 2026-2046: Technologies, Markets, Players" characterizes secondary source critical material recovery markets, technologies, and players. Market roadmaps for emerging secondary sources, value chain analysis, and twenty-year market forecasts from 2026 to 2046 are provided. IDTechEx identifies a significant value opportunity, with the critical material recovery market forecast to grow to over US$66 billion annually by 2046, at a CAGR of 9.2%.

Graphene has long been hailed as a wonder material, but its commercial journey has been defined by cautious progress rather than overnight disruption. Today, the industry is steadily advancing beyond the laboratory stage. IDTechEx projects robust growth for graphene-related materials in the coming decade, driven by expanding demand across multiple application sectors.

Webinar: Growing Scrutiny on Microplastics and Evolving Regulations Presenter: Dr Shababa Selim, Senior Technology Analyst, IDTechEx Date: Thursday 18 September 2025

Mounting regulatory pressure and a looming waste crisis from end-of-life composites are driving innovations in recyclable resin systems and recycling pathways. In this article, IDTechEx Technology Analyst, Maia Benstead, explores the key emerging technologies and players looking to drive uptake of sustainable composite materials.

IDTechEx's new report "Biomanufacturing Specialty Chemicals 2026-2036" examines the role of white biotechnology in producing specialty chemicals, focusing on food additives, cosmetic and personal care ingredients, pigments, and enzymes.

This report offers a detailed independent analysis of the technological and commercial progress of graphene and other 2D materials. Coverage across 18 application areas including segmented market forecasts from 2026 to 2036. IDTechEx has over a decade of experience covering the graphene industry, predicting growth to a market value of US$2.7 billion by 2036.

IDTechEx has released a brand-new market report, "Glass in Semiconductors 2026-2036: Applications, Emerging Technologies, and Market Insights", providing end-to-end market intelligence for seven distinct glass product segments, with technology deep-dives, benchmarking, supply chain mapping, adoption drivers, risk analysis, and unit and revenue forecasts 2025-2036.

This brand-new IDTechEx report comprehensively examines advanced coatings technologies, including key developments, drivers and commercial activity throughout the coatings industry. It covers application technologies, alternative materials and key markets, including 10-year granular market forecasts.

The new IDTechEx market report "Glass in Semiconductors 2026-2036: Applications, Emerging Technologies, and Market Insights" provides the first bottom-up market model segmented by seven physical product classes, from carrier wafers through to photonic tiles. Readers will gain a clear picture of how large the opportunity is - US$4.4 billion by 2036.

IDTechEx's research dives into some of most intelligent material technologies. This article specifically explores carbon nanotubes (CNTs), self-healing materials, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

In this article, IDTechEx examines the complex decisions shaping digital transformation in materials R&D and what they mean for the future of AI-powered innovation.

PFAS materials are critical to the functioning of today's Li-ion cells, but there is growing pressure to eliminate them from batteries due to negative health and environmental impacts and potential regulatory pressure. This article highlights how the development of non-PFAS materials is paving the way for the commercialization of the first PFAS-free batteries.

IDTechEx forecasts that the market size of thermal interface materials (TIMs) will exceed US$7 billion, covering multiple industries including EV batteries, EV power electronics (TIM1 and TIM2), data centers, advanced semiconductor packaging (TIM1 and TIM1.5), ADAS sensors, consumer electronics, and 5G. Find out more in this new article by Senior Technology Analyst Yulin Wang.