With the pandemic still raging, supply chain disruptions, the chip shortage, climate catastrophes, and geopolitical turbulence, it is safe to say 2021 has not been smooth sailing. The materials and chemical sector provides the backbone of every industry and remains under pressure from all these challenges. In this article, IDTechEx highlights the key news from their independent perspective on this crucial industry.

5G is recognized as an important infrastructure for both developed and developing countries. By the end of 2021, 79 nations have either commercialized 5G or are conducting 5G trials. Though 5G is commercialized, there are still a lot of technical developments going on. In this article, IDTechEx discuss the 4 major areas of development/trends.

The massive new challenges of desertification, rising sea levels, starvation, increasingly violent weather, dysfunctional national governments and the accelerating move to cities can be tackled on a human scale.

Wednesday 17 November 2021 - Over the last year, we've seen an increasing number of 5G consumer network rollouts and field testing around the world. This webinar discusses an overview of 5G development; 5G commercial deployment; an overview of 5G application; and much more.

5G has two new frequency bands: sub-6 GHz (3.5 - 7 GHz) and mmWave (>24 GHz). 5G sub-6 GHz, with a frequency relatively close to the 4G frequency range, does not receive as much attention as the other new frequency band - mmWave. Even though there has been a lot of buzz surrounding mmWave, has this technology been extensively adopted? What are the pain points in the mmWave industry? What are its prospects for the future?

Wednesday 3 November 2021 - Prospects for All Sensors and Preparation for Sensor-Centric 6G Communications in 2022. This webinar reveals progress in 2021 and prospects for 2022, and much more! Register your place on of the three sessions.

Several billion dollars have been put on the table for 6G Communication so far. The IDTechEx report "6G Communications Market, Devices, Materials 2021-2041" reveals how Europe, North America, and East Asia are all strongly committed to this dream. So who is ahead in the race to mass deployment maybe in 2030?

Under US sanctions, Huawei's revenue in the first half of 2021 was RMB 320.4 billion, which despite COVID-19 is a 38% decrease from RMB 454 billion in the same period last year; Xu Zhijun, Huawei's rotating chairman, pointed out that Huawei's goal is to survive. IDTechEx has recently launched the new version of their market research report on 5G - "5G Technology, Market and Forecasts 2022-2032". Some of the findings from the new report are presented in this article.

Thursday 14 October 2021 - What is the deployment outlook in 5 key regions including China, the U.S., Europe, South Korea, and Japan? Who are the key players? How will this technology disrupt 5G industry dynamics? - and much more.

A fully digitalized and connected world was unimaginable for us a couple of years ago. However, thanks to the development of 5G, this vision is in sight. 5G small cells will play an essential role in 5G networks for connected industries. This article by IDTechEx covers the benefits, challenges and opportunities.

Thursday 30 September 2021 - Emerging applications for capacitive sensors, such as leak detection; Spatially resolved temperature sensors, for monitoring EV batteries and electronics, that can be combined with other functionalities; and more! Will conclude with Q&A for pre-submitted questions

5G is paving the way for a fully digitalized and connected world. The past two years have seen many new field trials and an accelerating number of commercial rollouts. Moreover, 5G is starting to be adopted in a wide range of industries, from manufacturing to healthcare.

Printed and flexible sensors constitute the largest printed electronics market outside of displays. Indeed, we forecast that the market for fully printed sensors will reach 4.9 billion by 2032.

6G Communications promises between ten to one hundred times the download speed for operating unpowered devices, remote holographic surgery and much more, but it will depend on how high a frequency is chosen and how much infrastructure investment is made.

Thursday 16 September 2021 - Why are the most popular applications being added beyond today's popular microwave frequencies for deployed metamaterials? Why will sophisticated metasurfaces be essential for planned terahertz 6G communications, transforming your mobile phone and much more?

Thermoelectrics is a business impeded by the use of the toxic rare metal Tellurium. Commendably, there is a trend to alternatives in research but few volume sales as yet in any of the three uses. These are energy harvesting to make electricity where it is needed and the more successful cooling and heating, those last two constituting very-reliable, solid heat pumps.

Thursday 2 September - 5G small cells overview (players analysis, product benchmark, technologies trend, technology benchmark); How digital transformation of our society will be realized by 5G small cells; How 5G small cells are compared to other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi 6; 5G small cell market and the future outlook

Metamaterials are added-value materials. The IDTechEx report, "Metamaterial and Metasurface Markets Electromagnetic 2022-2042" helps you prosper by making and deploying them everywhere. Who should you partner with, emulate or buy?

The development of new technology often creates new opportunities to provide value to customers in new products. Electronic textiles have hundreds of potential use cases, many of which are being explored by different companies around the world. So where is the "killer app" for e-textiles?

Thermoelectric cooling, heating, and harvesting is partly a great success now, partly to be a success later. First to analyze this big picture is the new IDTechEx report, "Thermoelectric Cooling, Heating, Harvesting: 90 Companies' Achievements and Strategies Appraised with Roadmap 2022-2042".