Trends Identified

Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials display unique optical, magnetic and electrical properties that can be exploited in various fields, from healthcare to energy technologies. However, technical constraints and uncertainties over their toxicity to humans and the environment continue to hinder their widespread application.

2016

OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016

OECD

Advanced materials and nanotechnology

Nanomaterials are materials manufactured and used at an infinitesimal scale, on the order of one billionth of a metre, which behave differently from their larger counterparts, for example in terms of resistance, conductivity or chemical reactivity. They encompass a wide range of organic and inorganic materials, including nanocrystals and nanocomposites. Nanotechnology is a general-purpose technology with multiple applications, which has the potential to revolutionize many industrial sectors. Its applications include: (a) Water remedation and purification, for example through nanofiltration membranes used to treat wastewater in water-scarce countries; (b) Increasing the heat resistance of materials and the Flexibility and performance of electrodes in lithium-ion batteries; (c) Precise control of the release of agrochemicals, improving seed germination and reducing toxicity in the agriculture process, increasing agricultural yields and reducing environmental impacts; (d) Nanoelectronics include devices and materials that reduce weight and power consumption of electronic devices, for example the production of small electronic circuits, enhanced memory storage and faster computer processors; and (e) Medical applications such as the use of gold nanoparticles in the detection of targeted sequences of nucleic acids, and of nanoparticles as a delivery mechanism for medications.

2018

Technology and Innovation Report 2018

UNCTAD

Nano-electronics

Nanoelectronics is the advanced technology which exploits qualitatively new phenomena of electric circuits functionality emerging at nanoscales. Particularly promising are applications involving quantum nature of those systems such as quantum coherence and the intrinsic spin of an electron. Current research deals with new generation of quantum devices, which open up horizons for qualitatively new applications such as quantum computing/communication, quantum metrological standards, various logic devices. These developments will provide systemic solutions addressing fundamental limitations of conventional ("More Moore"), and even less conventional CMOS technologies (‘more than Moore’ or ‘Beyond CMOS’). Exploiting a broad variety of materials, phenomena and integrating multiple functions in miniaturised smart systems is the next frontier in Nanoelectronics.

2015

Preparing the Commission for future opportunities - Foresight network fiches 2030

European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)

Nanodevices

Nanodevices are machines made of a number of molecular parts that do useful work (such as moving
or changing electrically, chemically or optically) in response to specific inputs. Examples include nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), nanosensors, nanocomputers and nanorobots. They have surprising energy-efficiency, power density, sensitivity and optical efficiency. Their small size also reduces production costs and increases the number of devices running in parallel, increasing speed. They are likely to be of most use in medical devices, although their small size may lead them to be treated as “smart” drugs. They are also likely to be components of human-scale devices to increase the performance or provide new abilities.

2013

Metascan 3 emerging technologies

Canada, Policy Horizons Canada

Nanomaterials

Nano-scale systems often exhibit properties that improve upon or are much different from their human-scale varieties; for example, silver exhibits anti-bacterial properties at the nano-scale that are absent at the macro-scale. As scientists work with materials close to the molecular level, they can produce new and useful materials, such as nanocellulose and nanocarbon. Both have impressive performance characteristics, being respectively 10 and 50 times stronger than steel for their weight. Nanocoatings provide new ways to make structures self-cleaning, more durable and perhaps even able to receive, store and respond to stimuli. Other nanomaterials are excellent catalysts for making chemistry greener and cheaper. Over the next 15 years, nanomaterials will change the types of things we build and how we build them.

2013

Metascan 3 emerging technologies

Canada, Policy Horizons Canada

Nano- and micro-robotics systems

Nano- and microrobotics systems appear to be very promising in terms of their use in medicine, including to develop next-generation surgical devices. In this group, promising products include: movable elements of nano- and microrobotics systems based on laminated nanocomposite materials; integrated equipment based on mechatronic modules to machine complex parts; active nanostructures based on magneto-elastic materials and multiferroics with artificially created critical states, designed for micro-electromechanical systems; mechatronic modules used for spatial positioning of nanosystems and nanotechnological equipment based on incremental micromotors, roller drives and microprocessor control systems.

2016

Russia 2030: science and technology foresight

Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Multi-purpose Vaccine

Multi-purpose vaccines prevent diseases caused by most variants of pathogenic bacteria and reduce the number of vaccinations a child receives. Identifying safe and effective antigens, and ensuring the stability of the vaccine is important. The technology uses DNA vaccines that target DNA sequences common in widely ranging pathogens.

2010

KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2010

South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)

Globalization patterns are changing, with rapid growth in data flows and a larger role for highgrowth emerging economies

Much of the recent focus on globalization has been on trade pullbacks, rising protectionist measures, and public hostility. As a phenomenon, however, globalization has not gone into reverse; rather, it has shifted gears to become more data-driven and more focused on South- South flows. The seeming flattening of globalization that followed the 2008 financial crisis disguises new patterns of connectedness. While cross-border flows of goods and finance have lost momentum, data flows are helping drive global GDP. Cross-border data bandwidth grew by 148 times between 2005 and 2017, to more than 700 terabytes per second—a larger quantity per second than the entire US Library of Congress—and is projected to grow by another nine times in the next five years as digital flows of commerce, information, searches, video, communication, and intracompany traffic continue to surge. In line with its rising economic role, the developing world is now driving global connectedness. For the first time in history, emerging economies are counterparts on more than half of global trade flows, and South-South trade is the fastest-growing type of connection. In the MGI Connectedness Index, Singapore tops the latest rankings, followed by the Netherlands, the United States, and Germany. China has surged from number 25 to number seven. South-South and China-South trade jumped from 8 percent of the global total in 1995 to 20 percent in 2016. The shifting nature of the Chinese economy, toward a more R&D-intensive focus and away from low-cost manufacturing, plus China’s push through the Belt and Road initiative, may begin to create a new trade ecosystem with China at the core. By comparison, North-North trade and North-South trade have declined as a share of total trade, especially since the 2008 financial crisis. North-North trade is now 33 percent of the total, versus 43 percent in 2005 and 55 percent in 1995. Amid these shifts, our latest research suggests that China’s relationship with the world may be at a turning point. By 2017, China accounted for 15 percent of world GDP. It overtook the United States to become the world’s largest economy in purchasing power parity terms in 2014, according to International Monetary Fund data—for the first time since 1870. (In nominal terms, China’s GDP was 64 percent of US GDP in 2017, making it the secondlargest economy in the world). Behind these headline numbers lies a less-noticed shift: over the past decade, even as its economy has grown, China’s exposure to the world, as measured by the magnitude of flows of trade, technology, and capital with the rest of the world relative to its economy, has declined. At the same time, the world’s exposure to China (the magnitude of flows with China relative to the global economy) has increased since 2000. Metrics used to measure exposure include China’s importance as a market and supplier of goods and services; the importance of Chinese technology exports for global R&D spending; and China’s importance as a supplier of financing (Exhibit 2). Global value chains are also evolving. They are being reshaped in part by technology including automation, which could amplify the shift toward more localized production of goods near consumer markets. And they are changing along with global demand, as China and other developing countries consume more of what they produce and export a smaller share. As emerging economies build more comprehensive domestic supply chains, they are reducing their reliance on imported intermediate inputs. The result is that goods-producing value chains have become less trade-intensive, even as cross-border services are growing briskly—and generating more economic value than trade statistics capture, according to our analysis. Trade based on labor-cost arbitrage has been declining and now makes up only 20 percent of goods trade. Global value chains are becoming more knowledge-intensive and reliant on high-skill labor. Finally, goods-producing value chains (particularly automotive as well as computers and electronics) are becoming more regionally concentrated as companies increasingly establish production in proximity to demand.

2019

Navigating a world of disruption

McKinsey

The new core- unleashing the digital potential in heart of the business operations

Much of the attention paid to cloud, cognitive, and other digital disruptors today centers on the way they manifest in the marketplace: Individually and collectively, these technologies support new customer experiences, product innovation, and rewired industry ecosystems. Often overlooked, however, is their disruptive potential in core back- and mid-office systems and in operations, where digital technologies are poised to fundamentally change the way work gets done. This transformation is beginning with finance and supply chain, two corporate and agency pillars ready to embrace all things digital. From there, next-generation transaction and financial systems, blockchain, machine intelligence, automation, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are redefining what is possible in these mission-critical functions.

2017

Tech trends 2018

Deloitte

Smart logistics

Moving things & people with a new level of efficiency

2018

Corum Top Ten Disruptive Technology Trends 2018

Corum