Market Watch

October 2014
Due in part to the Energy Department’s long-term investments and partnerships with private industry, academia, and DOE National Laboratories, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels now cost 50 percent of what they did three years ago. To accelerate the development of next generation PV technologies that will further dr
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Date:
10/31/2014
After falling by about 50 percent from 2009 through 2014, pricing for solar glass is set to commence a rebound starting next year, as anti-dumping duties levied by the European Union go into effect on Chinese suppliers. Average global pricing for glass used in photovoltaic (PV) solar is expected to fall to $4.60 pe
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Date:
10/31/2014
The Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) today announced nine topics and 26 new subtopics under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Technology Transfer (STTR) programs that will help small businesses develop and deliver market-driven clean energy technologies. This year, EERE
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Date:
10/28/2014
Structural electronics (SE) is one of the most important emerging technologies this century. It is all about multi-functionality; dumb structural components that traditionally provided mechanical stability are now bestowed with electronic and electric functionality – aircraft fuselage, car body, even plastic co
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Date:
10/27/2014
Propelled by the race between Apple and Samsung to enhance their mobile products with cutting-edge sensor technology, the market for sensors in cellphones and tablets is set to nearly triple from 2012 through 2018, according to IHS Technology. Worldwide market revenue for sensors used in mobile handsets and media
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Date:
10/27/2014
Medical power market growth driven by emerging regions

Jonathan Eykyn, IHS Technology

The world market for power supplies that are used in medical applications continues to grow strongly, thanks to continuing development in emerging regions as healthcare facilities are upgraded and expanded. Demand for medical equipment in Western Europe and North America remains lower, especially for medical im
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Date:
10/24/2014
Maxwell Technologies announced a joint development agreement with Corning, with the goal of advancing the state of capacitive energy storage technology by addressing the challenges frequently cited by ultracapacitor customers, including energy density, lifetime, operating environment, form factor and cost. The unique be
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Date:
10/24/2014
Three leading power supply manufacturers announced the formation of a new power industry consortium, the Architects of Modern Power (AMP). The founding members are CUI, Ericsson Power Modules and Murata – all global players developing advanced power conversion technology for distributed power architectures. The aim of th
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Date:
10/23/2014
Governors and lawmakers in state capitals across the nation continue to take major steps to lower energy costs, reduce pollution, and save consumers money by increasing their states’ energy efficiency, according to the findings of the 8th edition of the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard released today by the Am
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Date:
10/22/2014
Capped by last week’s announcement that Qualcomm would buy CSR PLC, the automotive semiconductor industry recently has been undergoing a wave of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity that has shaken up the competitive order of the market, according to IHS Technology. In two major deals announced in August
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Date:
10/22/2014
Envelope Tracking (ET) adoption rates will soar, according to a recent forecast analysis published by  Nujira. The company’s research predicts that the total market for ET will exceed 4 billion units a year by 2018, representing a $3 billion market opportunity over the next five years as ET becomes ubiquitous ac
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Date:
10/21/2014
Dramatically decreasing capital costs for solar and wind technologies present the prospect of an unprecedented boost for Texas companies. Sweetening the deal is the fact that "fuel" from the sun and the wind is free. Forever. No long-term contracts to negotiate and pay out ov
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Date:
10/21/2014
Inverter shipments continue to grow as demand shifts to Asia

Cormac Gillian, IHS

Inverter shipments are forecast to increase by 5 percent to reach almost 42GW in 2014 with Asia accounting for 58 percent of global shipments. Two of the three largest PV inverter markets in the world, Japan and China, are in Asia; and these two markets are having a huge impact on the global inverter market. Global inverter
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Date:
10/21/2014
Distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) system prices dropped by 12% to 19% nationwide in 2013, according to the third edition of a jointly written report on PV pricing trends from the Energy Department's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In addition, 201
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Date:
10/21/2014
Power management company Eaton unveiled efforts by its Electronics Division to enhance the safety of automotive electronics with a multi-tiered initiative to meet the industry’s growing demand for highly reliable, superior magnetics, supercapacitors and circuit protection products. The initiative features
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Date:
10/16/2014
AVX, a leading manufacturer of passive components and interconnect solutions, has expanded its partnership with Modelithics, a leading RF/Microwave simulation model provider, with the addition of 45 new Modelithics substrate scalable equivalent circuit models. Designed to speed up design decisions and circuit lev
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Date:
10/16/2014
Qualcomm announced the Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator, powered by Techstars, a four-month mentorship-driven startup program aimed to accelerate the development of the next generation of robotics and intelligent machines. Approximately 10 companies will be selected to participate in the program and will be based on
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Date:
10/15/2014
Qualcomm announced that it has reached agreement with CSR regarding the terms of a recommended cash acquisition through which the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of CSR will be acquired by Qualcomm Global Trading, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm. The acquisition complemen
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Date:
10/15/2014
Is it a Car or an iPad? - Model S’s electronics reflect Tesla’s unconventional approach

Tesla Model S

Everyone knows that Tesla Motors Inc. doesn’t do things the same way as other automakers. However, the company’s unique approach to automaking runs far deeper than the Model S’s electric drivetrain, battery packs and futuristic body. In fact, the company’s unconventional approach extends all the way d
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Date:
10/14/2014
TE Connectivity, a leader in connectivity, announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Measurement Specialties. Measurement Specialties, a leading global designer and manufacturer of sensors and sensor-based systems, offers a broad portfolio of sensor technologies including pressure, vi
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Date:
10/14/2014
As the fastest-growing segment of the global water meter industry, the worldwide market for two-way smart meters is set to surpass the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2019, with managed services, analytics and smart water network adoption all combining to accelerate growth, according to a new report from IH
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Date:
10/10/2014
Printed, organic, and flexible electronics: high growth but mixed fortunes

The range of enabling technologies involved are at very different points of maturity and profitability

IDTechEx, a global market research, technology scouting and events firm, finds that in 2014 three technologies - OLED displays, sensors and conductive ink - make up 99% of the $23.97 billion market for printed, organic and flexible electronics. A snapshot of the market size in 2014, based on research conducted fo
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Date:
10/09/2014
Mouser Electronics, a leading engineering resource and distributor of semiconductors and electronic components, announced the launch of a PCB design integration tool MultiSIM BLUE, designed in collaboration with National Instruments. The powerful tool is available free online, and is offered in English and German as
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Date:
10/07/2014
Cree, a leader in gallium nitride (GaN) RF devices, has achieved a major production milestone with its recent accreditation as a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Category 1A Trusted Foundry for its 100mm RF GaN facility in Durham, NC. Granted through the Trusted Access Program Office (TAPO) and the Defense Microelectronics Ac
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Date:
10/07/2014
American Vanadium announced that Newfound Energies has signed a purchase order, subject to financing, for two 30KW-130KWh CellCube vanadium flow energy storage systems for integration into a remote microgrid fuel and logistics center. This is the first purchase order American Vanadium has received as the North Am
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Date:
10/06/2014
IDTechEx forecasts electric vehicle sales in 37 categories, the variety increasing each year as new sectors become substantial. Some sectors such as golf cars are mature and not growing. In other sectors, including electric motorcycles, cars, buses and yes, unmanned electric aircraft, the news comes thick and fa
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Date:
10/06/2014
Smart energy innovator for developing countries joins IAR Systems’ green tech program

IAR Green Innovation Program

IAR Systems announced that Local Energy Appliances, a startup company specializing on smart systems and solutions for electrical grids in developing countries, joins the sponsor program IAR Green Innovation Program. IAR Green Innovation Program supports innovative development projects in eco-friendly technology. Wi
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Date:
10/01/2014
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