Central to any circular economy is polymer recycling. Current mechanical recycling processes face many issues from societal perceptions of recycling, to economic and technological barriers; however, there are a number of companies whose innovations are changing the face of polymer recycling. From IDTechEx's latest report, "Green Technology and Polymer Recycling: Market Analysis 2020-2030" by Dr Bryony Core, here is a rundown of some of these key companies.

2019 has been a big year for plant-based meat substitutes. Spurred on by consumer perceptions of healthiness and a global megatrend towards conscious consumptions, sales of plant-based meat grew by almost 40%, compared with 2017. In the three months after going public, plant-based burger maker Beyond Meat's share price surged by 500% and rival Impossible Foods secured an additional $300 million in funding.

Will the hamburgers of the future be made from animal cells grown in a lab instead of inside a cow? Cultured meat, also known as "cell-based" or "clean" meat, could soon be making its way to our dinner plates, completely bypassing the need for animal slaughter and overcoming some of the major environmental issues that currently plague the global agriculture industry. Even though no products have yet been released and there are major challenges with cost, regulation and scale up, the industry is growing rapidly, with investment reaching a new high in 2019.

IDTechEx is hosting a free webinar on Thursday 16 January 2020 titled Innovations in Cardiovascular Disease Management.

As developers' understanding of this disease grows, so will the range of devices at their disposal to address it. They have only scratched the surface of how technology can improve CVD patients' lives and, as they dig deeper, they will continue to unlock the potential of this growing market.

The idea of growing meat outside an animal has been around for a long time. In 1931, Winston Churchill wrote that by the 1980s "we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium." Although his timing was off by four decades, his predictions are beginning to materialise as the world looks for new ways to feed its burgeoning population whilst overcoming the environmental problems of conventional animal agriculture.

Held over 20 - 21 November 2019 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, USA, the latest edition of the IDTechEx Show! will once again feature the application of emerging technologies to the healthcare industry.

The ear has long been touted as an excellent place for technology to exist on the body. Over 5 years of gradually gaining momentum, the topic of "hearables" is finally being recognized more widely for the excellent opportunity which it presents.

Opening the IDTechEx Show! on November 20-21 at the Santa Clara Convention Center are three cornerstone speakers, highlighting key progress and future visions across the topics covered at the event.

A key focus of the Sensors USA part of the IDTechEx Show! will be Point-of-Care Biosensors. Biosensor devices provide information associated with a specific health condition or disease. The general trend in biosensors is a move from testing in centralized hospitals, to the patents with point-of-care devices.

The general trend in electronics is towards smaller and faster devices. Now something different is coming to market. The new competitive frontier is form factor: flexible, stretchable and structural electronics.

On November 20 & 21 the IDTechEx Show! opens in the Santa Clara convention center to 3,500 people representing technology scouts and innovation managers from global brands to suppliers from across the value chain.

Wearable technology devices seek to provide value in the augmentation of the wearer by design and function. From this perspective, electronic skin patches are a particularly interesting device type, anchoring the device to the skin in order for it to achieve a specific function.

IDTechEx Analysts Share 5 Key Lessons from Healthcare Sensor Innovations 2019. Healthcare Sensor Innovations 2019 was a conference and table-top exhibition organized by IDTechEx, a market intelligence and events company. The event was held over 25-26 September 2019 in Cambridge, United Kingdom and attracted over 185 delegates from over 23 countries. Forty speakers from the healthcare, electronics, and materials industries shared their progress in wearables and sensors for point-of-care diagnostics and continuous monitoring. IDTechEx technology analysts Dr Nadia Tsao and Dr Ivan De Backer explore the technology developments and market trends presented at Healthcare Sensor Innovations 2019.

Plastic is everywhere, and that is the problem. There is a huge drive to address the concerns that consumers and industry alike have regarding the longevity of plastic in the environment.

Healthcare Sensor Innovations, a brand-new event hosted by IDTechEx, opened to a packed audience in Cambridge, UK, last week. The event focused on the use of wearables and sensors in enabling the point-of-care diagnostics and continuous monitoring of individuals for health and wellness.

Registrations for the inaugural Healthcare Sensors Innovation event in Cambridge on 25-26 September is exceeding all expectations and nears venue capacity. The event is successfully bringing together the linchpins of the healthcare industry with the electronics industry to explore the opportunity in two specific areas: point of care diagnostics and continuous monitoring.

This is the second of a two part series exploring wearable medical devices. In part 1, IDTechEx discussed trends indicating that "the future of wearable is medical". In part 2, we explore the question in reverse, asking to what extent "the future of wearables is medical."

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 3 October 2019 titled Is The Tipping Point For Graphene Commercialisation Approaching?

The IDTechEx Show! in Santa Clara, California on November 20-21 has it all. There will be over 270 exhibitors engaging with 3,500 attendees; seven parallel conferences and even masterclasses on November 19 and 22, with matchmaking services and awards. Land the big order or at least come away "married" and famous!