Advanced Materials

Public awareness of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) is hitting a new high as headlines concerning "forever chemicals" continue to appear in prominent news outlets. Whether it be news about PFAS bans in different industries, lawsuits against PFAS manufacturers and users, detection of PFAS in various locations and products, and treatment of PFAS in drinking water, there is no doubt that for many, PFAS is one of the foremost health issues of the 2020s.

Thursday 20 March 2025 - PFAS: Changing Regulations and Increasing Scrutiny for Forever Chemicals; PFAS definitions and concerns about PFAS exposure; Regulatory updates impacting PFAS; Impact of regulations on PFAS in sustainable food packaging

The EV revolution is driving demand for a huge variety of materials used in battery cells and packs. With new chemistries emerging to bridge cost and energy density gaps, the landscape is evolving rapidly. However, battery pack designers face complex challenges.

Thursday 6 Match 2025 - Driving Sustainability: Can Automotive Companies Deliver on Sustainable Plastics?; An overview of sustainable automotive plastics; The circular economy for automotive plastics; A summary of other sustainable materials covered in the report including sustainable upholstery, composites, and tire materials; Coverage of the key drivers pushing for sustainable automotive plastics; The key challenges for players in the automotive supply chain; Industry targets for sustainable plastics adoption; Discussion on the progress of adopting sustainable plastics and other polymers into passenger vehicles; IDTechEx's outlook and conclusions

Thursday 27 February - The issues with conventional semiconductor manufacturing and circuit patterning; Barriers and opportunities for sustainable manufacturing processes; The search for green chemicals and PFAS alternatives for semiconductor circuit patterning; The impact of EUV lithography on sustainability; Research focuses and advancements in dry etching

As growing numbers of countries identify critical materials within their economies, the ability to recycle them is becoming increasingly important, especially considering both their economic importance and ongoing supply risks. Sustainability goals rely on growing technology sectors like electric vehicles, which rely on magnets to be manufactured, ultimately meaning sourcing and recycling critical materials is an economic necessity to keep supply chains running.

Quantum computing is growing closer to realizing its full potential, pipe dreams have become tangible five-year plans, and more and more players are earning their own money for the first time. Finally, time will pass quicker than many appreciate in the years ahead - don't blink and miss the quantum computing market grow up, and the chance to leverage its disruptive potential at maturity.

"Forever chemicals", the colloquial term for the family of chemicals known as PFAS, is coming under increasing regulatory pressure globally as concerns over the negative effects of PFAS on human health and the environment are mounting. In this short video, IDTechEx Principal Technology Analyst Sona Dadhania talks through what "forever chemicals" are and why they are having such a global impact.

Electric vehicle (EV) sales continued to increase in 2024, admittedly with some significant regional disparity, but IDTechEx found that globally, EV sales increased 24% in 2024 over 2023. Despite the fact that most data shows EV fires are less common than combustion engine vehicles, safety cannot be overlooked in any rate of occurrence. This article aims to discuss some of the key factors and some of the potential materials that EV battery designers may consider.

The automotive industry is under increasing scrutiny to improve sustainability, and one of the key approaches to addressing this is sustainable material choice. The automotive sector uses over 14 million tonnes of plastics in passenger automotive vehicles each year.