Advanced Materials

Join IDTechEx Technology Analyst Dr Felix Wei on Thursday September 17 for the expert-led webinar, "100 Years of PHAs: Is Biomanufacturing Finally Ready for Take-Off?". Choose your preferred time zone - the webinar runs three times in one day.

The price of crude oil once again spiked to over US$100/barrel on September 9th 2026, with crude oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz being highly restricted since conflict in the Middle East began in March. IDTechEx believes that these developments provide a significant growth driver for the bioplastics industry in 2026 and beyond.

Thermal runaway and system safety are critical topics when it comes to using lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries in electric vehicles. A key focus for the EV industry is the need to apply fire protection materials to prevent or delay thermal runaway propagating between cells and eventually outside of the battery pack. With growing regulatory momentum and safety standards, this article from IDTechEx looks at the outlook for fire protection materials market.

Industrial biomanufacturing is outgrowing its dependence on corn- and sugarcane-derived feedstocks, with lignocellulosic biomass and C1 gases like methane and CO2 emerging as scalable, lower-cost alternatives. This shift is set to reduce land-use competition, improve sustainability, and unlock new cost reduction opportunities across the sector.

IDTechEx's portfolio of Advanced Materials & Critical Minerals Research Reports is one of its most diverse, covering the latest developments across many advanced materials including conductive inks, graphene, and more.

While the recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz has increased petrochemical prices, bioplastics remain consistently more expensive than conventional fossil plastics. In this article, IDTechEx explores how new legislation is required for bioplastics to overcome the green premium and grow their market share by providing secure demand for new capacity expansions by key bioplastics players worldwide.

This article explores the emergence of alternative conductive inks for printed electronics. The rising cost of raw and bulk silver is causing the inflation of conductive inks that rely on silver flakes as a conductive element, and alternatives such as copper ink and carbon inks are being developed.

IDTechEx analyst Dr Haynes assesses the alternatives to fossil-based plastics in this brief video.

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation 2025/40 (PPWR) will begin rolling out from August 2026, introducing stricter requirements for packaging recyclability, recycled content, transparency, and producer responsibility across the EU. Chemical recycling is expected to play an important role in helping companies comply with these rules by enabling difficult-to-recycle materials, such as multilayer packaging and mixed plastic waste, to be processed into valuable recycled feedstocks. The regulation also establishes ambitious recycled-content targets through 2040, strengthening the case for mass balance accounting approaches that support chemically recycled materials. IDTechEx believes these regulatory changes are likely to be a major driver for the growth and adoption of chemical recycling technologies in the coming decade.