The tech is already delivering time and cost savings in a range of business functions, from R&D to product design. For instance, generative AI could reduce design timelines by up to 90% for infrastructure projects and slash raw material use by upwards of 95% in industrial design. 

Industrials incumbents are moving quickly to take advantage. Hyundai, for instance, has used Autodesk’s generative design software to figure out how to efficiently make parts for new vehicle modalities. IBM, meanwhile, is using generative AI to identify and test computer chip materials. 

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The post 6 applications of generative AI in industrials appeared first on CB Insights Research.

At the time, Tesla was delivering around 50,000 vehicles a year. That year, the company broke ground on its battery Gigafactory production site in Nevada. That site would churn out enough batteries to power 500,000 Teslas per year. And more sites like this were needed, Musk claimed.

It’s clear that Musk’s vision panned out, with the company on track to deliver more than 1M vehicles this year alone. This foresight allowed Tesla to become a dominant leader in the EV battery tech space. But as EV adoption becomes more mainstream, startups — with backing from legacy auto OEMs, among other players — have popped up to compete with Tesla on battery tech.

Auto incumbents like Ford, General Motors, and Volkswagen have staked the success of their electrification roadmaps on these startups — from battery materials startups aiming to disrupt Tesla’s lithium-ion battery tech, to grid software companies that provide new EV charging solutions like vehicle-to-grid tech, to battery recycling companies that could transform the battery production process.

In this report, we look at how tech companies are unbundling Tesla and the broader EV battery tech business, broken out by battery materials, battery management systems, and battery lifecycle.

The post Unbundling Tesla: How the electric vehicle battery industry is getting disrupted appeared first on CB Insights Research.

But the sector is changing. Major players like BP, TotalEnergies, and Orsted are beginning to shift to cleaner and more digitized energy businesses to effectively and profitably decarbonize their operations. 

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The post Analyzing Shell’s growth strategy: How the energy giant is investing in a more sustainable future appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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The post Tech Market Map Report — Digitization & Automation in Advanced Manufacturing appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Semiconductor sales grew 26% in 2021 and are expected to increase nearly 9% in 2022, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. And as the industry quickly advances due to everything from increased demand for electronics to the quest for secure supply chains, startups are emerging to make the technology more capable and efficient to meet the specific needs of the future.

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The post 60+ companies reshaping the future of semiconductors, chips, and advanced electronics appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Industries across the board rely on the tech to power everything from cars to cell phones, and fragile supply chains as well as chip shortages have disrupted production processes across the globe. The automotive space, for example, lost $210B in revenue last year from the shortage, according to Alix Partners.

As a result, governments around the world are looking for new solutions. For example, China is on a quest to achieve self-sufficiency in semiconductor production due to the impact of several US sanctions, like those raised against Huawei. Meanwhile, western countries recognize that the majority of production being concentrated in China is a source of national security concern, driving demand to reshore manufacturing.

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The post Demand For Consumer Electronics And Secure Supply Chains Is Higher Than Ever — Here’s How Semiconductor Companies Are Benefitting appeared first on CB Insights Research.

With more government regulations pushing companies to curb emissions and reduce waste, the chemical giant is investing, partnering, and acquiring across a wide range of industries — from electric vehicles (EVs) to farm monitoring drones to rapid prototyping 3D printers — to build more connected and sustainable end-products.

For example, BASF participated in EAVISION’s 2021 Series C funding round, helping to increase production of the startup’s autonomous plant monitoring and pesticide-spraying drones. BASF has also invested in and collaborated with Lanzatech to upcycle CO2 emissions into new goods.

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The post Analyzing BASF’s Growth Strategy: How The Chemicals Giant Is Fortifying Its Greener & Smarter Businesses appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Critical to this transition is energy storage, which captures energy produced at a certain time and stores it for later use, providing a backup source of energy when its demand exceeds supply.

Automakers from BMW to Ford to General Motors, for example, are looking to these solutions to power electric vehicles, especially as they look for alternatives to traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs) — which largely run on gasoline and diesel fuel.

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The post 55+ Companies Reshaping Energy Storage For Electric Vehicles, The Power Grid, And Beyond appeared first on CB Insights Research.

From providing materials used to make the semiconductors in electronics to the Styrofoam insulating homes, the chemical giant has long dominated the market.

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The post Unbundling Dupont: How The Traditional Chemicals Manufacturer Is Being Disrupted appeared first on CB Insights Research.

More than 70% of consumers globally want companies to use more environmentally-friendly packaging, according to a Shopify report. CPG and retail leaders — including Nestle, Ulta, and Pepsi — are responding, with executive discussion of sustainable packaging on earnings calls soaring to all-time highs in 2021. 

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The post Consumers Are Ditching Plastic. To Keep Up, CPG Cos Must Look To These Sustainable Alternatives appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Consumers increasingly want products that are both safe and align with their values, and are backing it up with their dollars. Sustainable CPG products account for more than half the growth of the entire CPG category, according to a study by NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business and IRI.

Material innovation — looked at through the lens of chemical formulations and advanced or engineered techniques, like lab-grown processes — is playing a key role in the transition to greener alternatives, specifically for the beauty and personal care industry. 

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The post How Material Innovation Will Improve Sustainability In Beauty & Personal Care appeared first on CB Insights Research.

As US e-commerce orders jumped 137% year-over-year in June 2020 alone, the sheer volume of packaging waste has become a major issue for consumers and retailers.

To address the challenge, companies are pursuing advanced materials innovations to create more sustainable packaging.

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The post 3 Ways Advanced Materials Are Improving E-Commerce Packaging Sustainability appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Eighty-one percent of global respondents said they believe it’s important that companies implement programs to improve the environment, according to a 2019 Nielsen survey.

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The post 8 Startups Developing Sustainable Packaging Using Seaweed, Wood Pulp, And More appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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The post Biotech Business Model Spotlight: Ginkgo Bioworks appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Consumer demand for better phones, computers, and other electronics has been a major driver of new materials production. The rapid development of batteries, chips, and screens, for example, has depended on continuous improvement of the materials they comprise.

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The post Market Map: 40+ Companies Shaping The Future Of Advanced Materials appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Experts focused on climate change believe that conventional abatement technologies, such as renewable energy and vehicle electrification, will not be enough to curtail global warming.

Securing a safe climate for future generations will thus require directly removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere — a process known more broadly as carbon capture and removal (CCR).

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The post Startups Are Looking To Capitalize On The $1T Opportunity In Carbon Recycling appeared first on CB Insights Research.

The reality of our carbon emissions mix runs counter to the popular conception that most man-made CO2 is thrown off by crowded highways and residential electricity demand. Industry sources accounted for 22% of US CO2 emissions in 2017, according to the EPA – nearly on par with transportation and electricity sources (29% and 28%, respectively).

The technologies that will underlie a future economy with environmental impact as a primary consideration will go far beyond vehicle electrification and renewable energy. Some of the most basic processes behind our carbon-based economy are being upended, and the first movers will likely see outsize growth over the next century.

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The post Eliminating Carbon Emissions From Basic Materials Production Is A Tough Problem That Is Shaping Up To Have A Big Impact appeared first on CB Insights Research.

In mid-2017, the Dutch bank ING published a report predicting that 3D printing could cut global trade by 25% by 2060. By printing goods locally, the thinking goes, global trade in automobile parts, medical goods, toys, and a wide variety of other goods will fall. 3D printing’s global economic impact is tiny today, but the technology will have wide-ranging effects on how goods are manufactured and consumed.

That said, 3D printing faces a variety of technical and market barriers to its development. In this post, we use CB Insights data to provide a snapshot of the state of industrial 3D printing software, machinery, process technology development, and challenges to widespread adoption.

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The post State Of Industrial 3D Printing: Startups, Industrial Groups Make Steady Progress On 3D Printing Speed And Quality appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Despite a broader investment slowdown across the space, 3D printed parts continue to make their way into working use on airplanes, cars, oil & gas equipment, and other industrial machinery — all with the potential to reduce costs, increase performance, and shrink supply chains.

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The post Industrial 3D Printing: 40+ Startups Shaping The Future of Additive Manufacturing appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Two-thirds of the world’s population could experience water shortages by 2025, according to World Wildlife Fund. As a result, ensuring that water is clean, efficiently used, safely stored, and transported is becoming a major priority across growing ecosystems.

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The post Making Waves: 50+ Startups Working On Improving Water Infrastructure, Management, And Efficiency appeared first on CB Insights Research.

What’s next for advanced manufacturing technology?

CB Insights examined 14 of the biggest advanced manufacturing trends, covering everything from industrial sensors to machine vision to 3D printing.

Using the NExTT framework, we looked at the industry adoption and market strength of these trends, categorizing them as necessary, experimental, threatening, or transitory (NExTT). The framework educates businesses about emerging trends and guides their decisions in accordance with their comfort with risk.

Trends highlighted in the report include:

• Robots/cobots are getting smaller, smarter, and more closely integrated with human tasks
• Analytics software moves from reactive to proactive
  
• Augmented reality could transform worker training and safety in complex manufacturing
• New blockchain initiatives for 3D printing, IoT, and security prototypes will likely come under scrutiny
• And much more

Download the entire advanced manufacturing trends report to see all 14 trends shaping the industry.

The post Advanced Manufacturing Trends In 2019 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

Automakers are working to relieve that range anxiety, starting at the materials level.

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The post Beyond Silicon: Automakers Turn To New Materials To Power Electric Vehicles appeared first on CB Insights Research.

The MIT Engine accelerator-backed startup, and several other under-the-radar companies, are working on reducing energy consumption in industrial separations, a lesser known sector of our energy consumption mix.

Industrial separations account for 10%-15% of US energy consumption. At their most basic level, these processes make substances purer: Hydrocarbons are separated from crude oil, ethylene from ethane, and water from saltwater.

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The post Advanced Materials Could Cut Industrial Separations Energy Usage. But Will They Gain Traction? appeared first on CB Insights Research.