Trends Identified

Precise drug delivery through nanoscale engineering

Pharmaceuticals that can be precisely delivered at the molecular level within or around a diseased cell offer unprecedented opportunities for more effective treatments while reducing unwanted side effects. Targeted nanoparticles that adhere to diseased tissue allow for the micro-scale delivery of potent therapeutic compounds while minimizing their impact on healthy tissue, and are now advancing in medical trials. After almost a decade of research, these new approaches are finally showing signs of clinical utility.

2013

The top 10 emerging technologies for 2013

World Economic Forum (WEF)

Increasing philanthropy

Philanthropy will grow further on a global level up to 2030. Global donations and grants to Greenpeace increased consistently at the rate of 4% p.a. from 2000 to 2009; donations to Amnesty are currently ten times what they were in 1990. Global willingness to donate was not even stopped by the global financial crisis. The Haiti earthquake in 2010 led to USD 1.4 billion in donations to 96 organizations. About 30% of the world's population donates money to a charity every year, so the world will have about 2.5 billion active philanthropists by 2030. The growth of philanthropy also has a strongly emotional aspect: there is a strong correlation between giving money and happiness, with a coefficient of about 0.69.

2011

Trend compendium 2030

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants

Automation

Physical objects are becoming more and more frequently interconnected with digital technology (e.g., advanced robotics and sensing) and able to communicate without human intervention.

2017

Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World

Deloitte

Robotics

Physical systems of automation, including driverless cars

2016

Disruptive technologies barometer

KPMG

Physical value sensors based on nanomaterials

Physical value sensors based on nanomaterials could be used in special measuring devices. They comprise two sub-groups of innovative products: 1 electromagnetic wave measurement sensors: hard x-ray, ultraviolet, infrared, radio emissions, etc.; 2 sensors designed to measure linear and angular displacement (produced using materials made from nanotubes with zero transverse deformation coefficient), acceleration (based on the tunnel effect with sensitive nanoelements), and terahertz radiation using planar nanostructures (based on ultra-thin metal films). This sub-group also includes optical nanosensors for mechanical stress (based on elastic inverted photon crystals), etc.

2016

Russia 2030: science and technology foresight

Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

From workforce to crowdsource: The rise of the borderless enterprise

Picture a workforce that extends beyond your employees: one that consists of any user connected to the Internet. Cloud, social, and collaboration technologies now allow organizations to tap into vast pools of resources across the world, many of whom are motivated to help. Channeling these efforts to drive business goals is a challenge, but the opportunity is enormous: it can give every business access to an immense, agile workforce that is not only better suited to solving some of the problems that organizations struggle with today but in many cases will do it for free.

2014

Accenture Technology Vision 2014

Accenture

Reimagining plastics

Plastics are an integral part of the global economy, but the current linear value chain results in high proportions of underutilised resources that end up in the oceans and threaten marine ecosystems. Innovation opportunities are emerging in material design and the reprocessing of plastics to unlock latent value and protect the oceans.

2018

Global opportunity report

DNV GL

Recyclable thermoset plastics

Plastics are divided into thermoplastics and thermoset plastics. The former can be heated and shaped many times, and are ubiquitous in the modern world, comprising everything from children’s toys to lavatory seats. Because they can be melted down and reshaped, thermoplastics are generally recyclable. Thermoset plastics however can only be heated and shaped once, after which molecular changes mean that they are “cured”, retaining their shape and strength even when subject to intense heat and pressure.Due to this durability, thermoset plastics are a vital part of our modern world, and are used in everything from mobile phones and circuit boards to the aerospace industry. But the same characteristics that have made them essential in modern manufacturing also make them impossible to recycle. As a result, most thermoset polymers end up as landfill. Given the ultimate objective of sustainability, there has long been a pressing need for recyclability in thermoset plastics. In 2014 critical advances were made in this area, with the publication of a landmark paper in the journal Science announcing the discovery of new classes of thermosetting polymers that are recyclable. Called poly(hexahydrotriazine)s, or PHTs, these can be dissolved in strong acid, breaking apart the polymer chains into component monomers that can then be reassembled into new products. Like traditional unrecyclable thermosets, these new structures are rigid, resistant to heat and tough, with the same potential applications as their unrecyclable forerunners. Although no recycling is 100% efficient, this innovation – if widely deployed – should speed up the move towards a circular economy with a big reduction in landfill waste from plastics. We expect recyclable thermoset polymers to replace unrecyclable thermosets within five years, and to be ubiquitous in newly manufactured goods by 2025.

2015

Top 10 emerging technologies of 2015

World Economic Forum (WEF)

Fractured and/or polarized societies.

Polarization of societies has become a worldwide phenomenon; however, western developed nations are particularly vulnerable due to increased empowerment of individuals. Polarization can also exist between countries.

2017

Strategic foresight analysis

NATO

Political Fragmentation

Political and economic instability and catastrophic global disasters are reshaping the global stage in terms of trade relations, fiscal policy, regional economic health, the price of key commodities, and supply chain risk.

2017

Beyond the Noise- The Megatrends of Tomorrow’s World

Deloitte