英国50大新兴技术-Welcome to the future Innovate UKs 50 Emerging Technologies

Innovate

UK

INSIGHTSREPORT

Welcome

tothefuture

Innovate

UK’s50

Emerging

Technologies

TECHNOLOGIESTHATWILL

SHAPETHEUKECONOMY

IN2040ANDBEYOND

InnovateUK’s50EmergingTechnologiesreport

Futuretechnologytrends

Fivekeyquestions:

mattertobusinesses.As

1

Astechnologyismoreembedded

inourbodies,willhumansturn

intosomethingnewanddifferent?

Whatmakesushumanwillbe

increasinglyquestioned.

2

ShouldAIbeallowedtomake

decisionsonourbehalf?

Allaspectsofbusinessand

societywillbetransformed

throughAIandcomputing.

3

Ifhumanscanexpecta

centuryofgoodhealth,what

doesthismeanforemployment,

pensionsorhousing?

Thequalityandlengthofourlives

willbegreaterthaneverbefore.

4

Willashifttowardscleaner,

affordableenergychange

thewayweliveandwork?

Atransformedenergysystem

couldhelpnewindustriestothrive.

5

Whatwillavastexpansionof

ourunderstandingoftheworld

meanfortheUKeconomy?

TheUK’sabilitytodrawonits

researchandbusinessstrengths

willhelpussolvebigproblems

andseizeopportunities.

theUK’sinnovationagency

wearefrequentlyaskedwhat

thefutureholds.It’sourduty

tohelpbusinessesexplore

andanswerthis.

Weworkinagreatresearchand

innovationenvironmentwhere,with

inputfromourpartnersinResearch

Councilsandbeyond,wehavethe

uniqueabilitytoidentifyinteresting

emergingtechnologiesandtrends.

Wehavedrawnonourecosystem,

securinginputfrom300stakeholders

todeliveraglimpseofthefuture

thathelpsthebusinesseswe

workwitheverydaytoexplore

emergingopportunities.

Developmentofthisreportfollowed

awell-establishedandrobust

emergingtechnologyidentification

processthathasbeenindependently

reviewed.Inputcamefromawide

rangeofacademics,Government

departments,andResearchCouncils

includingEPSRC,BBSRC,NERC,

MRCandSTFC.Formoreonhow

wemadethereportgotopage6.

Read,shareanddiscuss

InnovateUK’s50Emerging

Technologiesreport.

Contributeyourthoughtsto

Youranswersto

questionslikethesewillshapeourfuture.

horizonscanning@

YourinputaidstheUKin

attainingstrategicadvantage

withincrucialfuturetechnologies.

Startcreatingthefuture,today.

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES02

FOREWORDBY

IndroMukerjee

ChiefExecutive,

InnovateUK

Unleashingopportunities

fortheUK’sleadership

TheUKisanimportant

globalplayerininnovation.

Ournationboasts

recognisedexpertise

acrossmanytechnologicaldomains,rangingfrom

artificialintelligence

andmaterialssciencetoroboticsandhealthcare.Atthesametime,therearemanychallenges

facingtheeconomy,

societyandthe

environmentthat

makeitessentialthat

wedriveinnovation

furtherandfaster.

InnovateUKistheUK’s

innovationagency,andweworktosupporteconomicandproductivitygrowth

throughsupporting

innovativebusinesses.

Wealsoworktohelp

catalyse,connect,and

stimulateideas-andthatworkisattheheartofthisInnovateUK50EmergingTechnologiesreport.

TheInnovateUKteam

hasdelvedintosomekeycutting-edgetechnologieswhicharestillintheir

infancy,andframed

thoughtstostimulate

discussion;tostimulate

ideas;andtostimulate

possiblefutureinnovation.

Theideaspresented

havethepotentialto,

directlyorindirectly,

stimulateactivities

whichcouldhelpUK

organisationsseize

theinitiativeandexplorenascentsectorsoftheeconomywithpotentialforgrowth.

Consider,forinstance,

space-basedsolarpower,aconceptthatoffersthe

tantalisingprospectofanuninterrupted,cleanenergysource.Furthermore,

softroboticsholds

tremendouspotential

forthedevelopment

ofartificialmuscles

andorgansthatcloselyresembletheirbiologicalcounterparts.

TheInnovateUKteam

recognisesthatthemost

crucialelementliesnotinthetechnologyitself,but

ratherinthepeopleand

innovativebusinessesandorganisationsbehindthem,spreadacrosstheUK.

Itisthesevisionary

entitiesthatpossess

theabilitytorecognise

potentialandtransformitintocommercially

successfulproductsofthefuture.Inthisreport,wearenotseekingto

predictthefuture,buttostimulatecuriosity,shareknowledge,andconsidertheartofthepossible.

Wewillsharethisreportacrossourinnovation

ecosystem-across

businesses,researchandtechnologyorganisations,governmentalbodies,

investors,lenders,

academicinstitutions,

andothers.Wearekeentoreceivefeedbackandkeentostimulateinnovationinactionforthebenefitof

theUKeconomyandsothatwecanworkonoursharedgoaltotransformtomorrowtogether.

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES03

HealthandMedical

Technology

29

Adultstemcellgeneration

30

Fluxomics

30

Anti-ageingdrugs

30

Antibioticreplacements

31

Microbiometherapeutics

32

PersonalisedRNAtherapeutics

32

Phasedgenome

assemblytools

32

Sensation

detectionimplants

33

Wholebody-on-a-chipdevice

33

EnergyandEnvironmentalTechnologies

20

Cross-linkedpolymerrecycling

21

Gridscalewirelessenergytransmissionandcharging

21

Hypersonics

22

Novelpropulsionor

ionbasedpropulsion

22

Novelhydrogenproductionandstoragetechnologies

23

Novelnegative

emissionstechnologies

24

Nuclearfusion

24

Space-basedsolarpower

24

Roboticsand

SpaceTechnologies

34

Fullyautonomousvehicles

35

Nanoscalerobotics

35

Roboticoff-worldmanufacture

35

Softrobotics

36

Spacenuclearpower

andnovelspace

propulsionsystems

36

Verylowearthorbit

(VLEO)satellites

37

Biotechnology

25

Artificialcellsandartificiallife

26

Bacteriaandmicrobe

manufacturing

26

Biocatalyticmembranes

26

Bioelectronicsand

electroceuticals

27

Hybridmicrobebiotechnology

28

Programmablecells

28

Biofabricationin

tissueengineering

28

Conclusionsand

thewayforward

38

Ourshowcasetechnologiesarehighlightedinbold.

Contents

Introduction

05

Howthereportisorganised

05

Howwemadethereport

06

AI,Digitaland

ComputingTechnologies

07

AIemotionand

expressionrecognition

08

Artificialgeneral

intelligence(AGI)

08

BiologicallyinspiredAI

08

Brainmachineinterface(BMI)technologies

09

Quantumalgorithms

10

DNAdatastorage

10

Newcomputingmodels

11

Novelimmersiveinterfaces

11

AdvancedMaterials

andManufacturing

12

4Dprinting

13

Biomimeticmaterials

13

Nanoparticlemanufacturing

13

Metamaterials

14

Electronics,Photonics

andQuantumTechnologies

15

Alternativeandnovel

semiconductorsystems

16

Emergingmicroscopy

techniques

17

Hyperspectralimaging

17

Millimetrewaveand

terahertztechnologies

17

Photongenerators

18

Plasmonics

18

Post-quantumcryptography

19

Roomtemperature

superconductors

19

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES04

Theaimofthisreportistoshare

someofthemostsignificantemergingtechnologieslikelytobeimportantto

theUK’sindustriesof2040andbeyond.

INTRODUCTIONBY

SimoneBoekelaar,

HeadofHorizon

Scanning,InnovateUK

Lookingthisfarinto

Forexample,remote

Howthereport

thefuturemeanswe

surgerybringstogether

isorganised

canstarttalkingwith

partnersacrossthe

innovationecosystem

aboutwhatsupport,ifany,isrequiredtorealisethe

technology’sfullpotential.

Thesetechnologiesmaynotbethosegettingthe

robotics,AI,advanced

materials,sensors,

imagingtechnologies.Orasmartphonecombinestouchscreenandcameratechnologies,internetandBluetoothconnectivity,

GPS,tonamejustafew.

Our50emerging

technologiesare

organisedwithinthe

UKInnovationStrategy’s

seventechnologyfamilies.Theywere,inturn,inspiredbyInnovateUK’staxonomyforstructuringand

mostinterestinpolicy

Thefocushereisprimarily

understandingthe1,000+

orinvestmentrightnow.

onthetechnologyrather

technologieswesupport.

Theymaynotbethe

hottesttopicsinresearchanddevelopmentcircles.Butouranalysissays

theyhaveeconomyandsociety-shapingpotential.

thantheirpotential

applications.Onthe

buildingblocks,rather

thanendresults.

Ourhopeisthatby

discoveringthese

Thisallowsusto

exploretherelationships

betweentechnologies

andtechnologyfamilies.

Itensuresthetechnologieswetrackcoverallareas

Whenreadingthisreport,

technologies,you

ofscienceandtechnology,

weneedtorememberthat

canconsideroriginal

andallpartsof

technologiesthemselves

combinations.These

oureconomy.

havelittleintrinsicvalue.Itisonlywhentheyareput

tousethatvaluemanifests.

Weknowthegreatest

valueiscreatedwhen

multipletechnologiesarecombined.Whenseveral

maytheninspirenew

applicationsorsolutionstosocietalchallenges.

Theninnovatorsare

inspiredtodevelopthesetechnologiesintonew

productsandservices.

Foreachtechnology,

wedefineandexplain

whyitisimportant,and

exploreitspotentialfuturesignificance.Ineach

familywehighlightone

technologywethink

maturetechnologiesare

Andwewillallbeinspired

couldhaveaparticularly

broughttogether–that

toembracethechange

meaningfuleconomic

canreallychangetheworld.

thisfuturewillbring.

orsocietalimpact.

Turnthepagetosee

howweselectedthe

50technologies.

Read.Share.Discuss.Innovate.

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES05

Howwemadethereport

1—Define

2—Gathering

Ourquestion:

Whichemergingtechnologies

arelikelytobeimportanttotheUKeconomy

beyond2040?

—Surveyof

scientistsand

researchers

—Discussions

withexperts

—Undertake

areviewof

technology

scansundertaken

byothers.

4—Analysis

Compareeach

shortlistedidea,

using30+metrics.Ourcriteria:

—Timing

—Additionality

—UKCapability

—Opportunity

—SocietalImpact.

3—Filtering

Combinenew

ideaswithexisting

data.Consider:

(i)Isittruly

emergingand

(ii)Istheresomeone

intheUKwith

expertise,to

createashortlist.

6—Output7—Communication8—Conclusion

Useanalysistoselectinterestingtechnologies

forreport.

Seeonpage38.

—Sharefindings

—Seekfeedback

—Usefeedback

fornextreport.

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES06

AI,DigitalandComputingTechnologies

Thesetechnologies

mightnotjusttransform

thewayweliveourlives,

butalsomakeusconsider

whatitmeanstobehuman.

Theycouldblurtheboundariesbetweenthereal

andvirtualworld,andcreateastep-changeinwhat

techcandointhehomeandworkplace.Whilethere

aremanypossibilitieswhichoffergreathope,ethical

considerationsneedtobefullyconsidered.Ifwedothat,

wecanmakesurethatourfuturesocietyharnesses

theworldofAI,digitalandcommutingtechnology

tothegreatestbenefitofthemostpeople.

AI,Digital

andComputing

Technologies

“Itmovesustowards

computingthatmimics

humanbrainprocesses.”

AIemotion

andexpression

BiologicallyinspiredAI

Artificialgeneral

intelligence(AGI)

recognition

Whatisit?Itspringsfromthe

AIisascapableoflearning

Whatisit?DevelopingAI

thatrecognisesandinterprets

humanemotions.

Whyisitinteresting?Can

youimagineaworldwhereAI

andhumansworkseamlessly

together?WhereSiriand

Alexaassistusinmore

thansimpletasks?

“Sentient”AIcanrecogniseour

emotionsandofferassistance,

companionshiporalertmedical

professionalswhenweneedhelp.Wemayneedmachinestoexpressemotionalbehavioursoftheirown,forexampleinAIusedinrobots.

Thiswouldhelppatientsincare

homeswhereemotionalinteractioniskeytoimprovedwellbeing.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Ithasthepotentialforvery

positiveimpacts,improvingour

dailylivesinareassuchascare

andcompanionship.Developmentwithstrongethicalconsiderationswillopenupendlessopportunities.

intellectualtasksashumans

are.Withtheflexibilityand

resourcefulnessofhuman

intelligence,capableof

producingnewideas.

Whyisitinteresting?AGI

enablesmachinestobehave,

learn,createandperformas

humansdo.ItwillhelpusexplorethecreativeabilitiesofAIand

understandtheincreasingly

‘natural’interactionsbetween

humansandmachines.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

AGIraisesintriguingquestions

aboutwhatitmeanstobe

human.Willwealwaysbeable

totellifweareinteractingwith

machinesorhumans?Willthat

mattertous?Theanswerswill

changeourlivesinwayswe

don’tyetexpectandcannot

yetforecast.

ideathatintelligenceemerges

asmuchfromcells,bodies,and

societiesasitdoesfromevolution

andlearning.Traditionally,AIhas

triedtoreproducehumanabilities.

Newerapproachestakeinspiration

frombiologicalstructuresthat

canorganisethemselves.These

includeevolutionarycomputation

andelectronics,artificialneural

networks,immunesystems,

bioroboticsandswarmintelligence.

Whyisitinteresting?

Itmovesustowardscomputing

thatmimicshumanbrain

processes,potentiallyallowing

creativebehaviourbymachines.

Itcouldprovidenewalgorithms

forplanning,rememberingand

visualstimulation.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Itcouldacceleratethe

developmentofAIandenable

thingsthatotherwisewouldn’t

bepossible.Itwilllikelyinform

usabouthowourworldfunctions.

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES08

AI,Digital

andComputing

TechnologiesSHOWCASETECHNOLOGY:

Brainmachine

interface(BMI)

technologies

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

AdvancedBMItechnologiesare

beingtrialledinprostheticsfor

peoplewithmotororsensory

impairments.Theycouldallow

peoplewhoareparaplegicor

quadriplegictoregainlimbcontrol.Thosemissinglimbscouldhave

directcontrol–frombraintodevice–oftheirprosthetics.

Whatdoweneedtostart

discussing?Thebalancebetweenhelpingandprotectingpeoplewhoneedorwantthistechnologyisabigtopic.Weneedtothinkaboutwhoshouldhaveaccesstothis

technology,andwhatregulations,ifany,areneeded.Wewouldalsoneedtoworkoutwhathappens

ifaproductisnolongersupported–thisisaninconveniencewithasmartphone,butamuchbigger

issuewhenadeviceislinkedtoyourbrain.

Whatisit?Technologies

thatconnectthebrainwitha

computerormachine.Ittranslates

ourthoughtsintocommandsthat

cancontrolexternalsoftwareor

hardware,suchasacomputer

orroboticarm.

Interfacetechnologiesareoften

dividedintothosethat‘read’brain

activityanddecodeitsmeaning,

andthosethat‘write’tothebrain

tomanipulateactivityinspecific

regionsandaffecttheirfunction.

Whyisitinteresting?Itgetsus

closertoafullinterfacewiththe

humanbrain.Theultimateability

tosharedatabetweenhumans

andmachinescouldalterthe

wayweregardmankinditself.

Whatindustriescouldusethis?

Medical,ageingsociety,sports,

military/defence,manufacturing,

servicessector.

“Theultimateability

tosharedatabetween

humansandmachines

couldalterthewaywe

regardmankinditself.”

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES09

AI,Digital

andComputing

Technologies

Quantum

algorithms

DNA

datastorage

“Imaginebeing

abletostore

Whatisit?Quantum

algorithmsareakeyelement

zettabytes

Whatisit?Itcouldexponentially

increasedatastoragecapabilities

ofthesoftwareandtoolsthat

willhelpquantumcomputerstopotentiallyoutperformstandardcomputers.Quantumalgorithmscanbeappliedtoareassuch

ascryptography,search

optimisation,andsimulation

ofquantumsystems.

Whyisitinteresting?

Quantumcomputersare

coming!Itisessentialthatfor

newcomputingparadigmswealsodevelopthesoftwareandtoolstoprovidetheapplicationsthesecomputerscansupport.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Thekeytogettingvalue

fromquantumcomputing

willbefindingthespecific

setofalgorithmsthatquantum

computersarebetteratthan

classicalcomputers.Weknow

someofthesealready,buttherearelotsmoretofindanddevelop!

and,theoretically,bepreserved

indefinitely.It’stheprocess

ofencodinganddecoding

datatoandfromsynthesized

strandsofDNAorRNA.

Whyisitinteresting?Imagine

beingabletostorezettabytes

(that’sahard-to-imagineone

billionterabytes),incompact,

high-densityandmolecular-

leveldatastorage?Harnessing

thepowerofbiotechnology

couldmeetourescalatingdata

storagedemands,especially

importantaswelooktoaccess

sophisticatedAItechnologies.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Wearereachingthephysical

limitationsofcomputinghardwaredesign.DNAsynthesiscould

removethislimitation,opening

upnewcomputingapplications,

capableofstoringandretrieving

vastvolumesofdata.

(that’sahard-

to-imagineone

billionterabytes),

incompact,

high-density

andmolecular

-leveldata

storage...”

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES10

AI,Digital

andComputing

Technologies

“Theseadvancescould

helptheworldbecome

moreequitable.”

Newcomputing

models

Whatisit?Newcomputing

techniquesnotbasedon

traditionalcircuittechnology.

Whyisitinteresting?Beyond

quantumcomputing,theseare

newcomputingmodelsofferingordersofmagnitudeperformanceimprovementsoutofreachof

conventionalcomputers.These

includebiological,photonicand

neuromorphiccomputing.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Thesetechnologiesforcompletelynewwaystobuildcomputers

willallowscientiststoanswer

questionswhichareimpossible

today.Theseincludemodelling

thehumanbrain,completeclimatesimulations,andunderstanding

datafromspaceexploration.

Novelimmersive

interfaces

Whatisit?Offersnewways

ofinteracting,creatingand

displayingcontent,applications

andexperiences.Thesecould

involveaugmentedreality,

ablendofrealandvirtual

experiences,orafullysimulated

digitalexperience.Itrequires

newformsofmediathatdeeply

involvealloursensestocreate

atruerperceptionofreality.

Whyisitinteresting?Willblurthe

off-andonlineworldbyallowing

ustousecomputertechnology

throughmultiplesenses.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Augmentingoursenseswith

technologycreatesopportunities,

rangingfromperformingsurgery

remotelytoadvertising.Itwill

changethewayweviewthe

worldandaccessmedia,and

allowustotravelviaoursenses.

Theseadvancescouldhelpthe

worldbecomemoreequitable.

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES11

Advanced

MaterialsandManufacturing

Whenwethinkofhowsociety

willlookinthedecadesto

come,advancedmaterials

willplayanintegralrole.

Theseincrediblematerialsallhavepropertiesmade

throughthedevelopmentofspecialisedprocessing

andsynthesistechnology.Theyopenthedoorto

newpossibilitiesinhealthcareandtransport,and

canpavethewaytoamoreenergy-efficientfuture.

Thesematerialswillbethebasisofthebusiness

innovationweneedtocreateadesirablefuturesociety.

Advanced

Materialsand

Manufacturing

“Offerssmartmaterials

whichadaptovertime,withthepotentialfor‘self-repair’.”

4Dprinting

Whatisit?3Dprintingisachievedbylayering2Dstructuresontop

ofeachother.Now,technologyisdevelopingtochange3Dshapesovertimethroughtheaddition

ofheat,light,electricityorliquid,creatinga4Dstructure.

Whyisitinteresting?

Offerssmartmaterials

whichadaptovertime,withthepotentialfor‘self-repair’.Thisofferspossibilitiessuchasmanufacturinginspace,bettersoftroboticsand

newmedicalsolutions.

Biomimetic

materials

Whatisit?Syntheticmaterials

developedusinginspirationfromnature.Designedto

replicatematerialattributesofalivingorganism.

Whyisitinteresting?

Biomimeticmaterialsoftenofferhigherstructuralperformanceforlowerenergyinput.They

areeasiertoreuseandrecyclethancomparablematerials.

Thistechnologyinspiresustoexplorethenaturalworldformoresustainablesolutions.

Nanoparticlemanufacturing

Whatisit?Asthename

suggests,themanufacturingof

nanoparticles.Theseincredibly

tinyparticlesaremadeeither

bybreakingdownlargerpieces

ofmaterial,orbyassembling

singleatomsandmoleculesintonanostructures.Thetop-down

approachisusefulformaking

interconnectedstructuressuchasinelectronics;whilethebottom-upprocesscancreateidentical

structureswithatomicprecision.

Whyisitinteresting?

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Ifmaterialscanrepairthemselves,itreducesourneedtoperform

dangerousmaintenancetasks.4Dmaterialscouldcreatestructuresinspaceorotherchallenging

locations.Theycouldallowus

tocreatemedicaldevicesthat

changewiththepatientovertime.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Couldopenupnewwaysof

creatingmaterialsinspiredby

nature,cheaptomakeandlessharmfultotheplanet.Thiscouldhelpusdiscovernewwaysof

makingmaterials,grounded

inmillenniaofevolution.

Nanotechnologyhasemerged

overthepastdecadeorsoas

anessentialtechnologyformany

industries.Findingmoreeffective,

efficientandlowercostwaysto

manufacturenanoparticleswill

helpustoexpandtheusesand

benefitsofnanotechnology.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Givingusstronger,cleanerand

“smarter”surfacesandsystems;

removingpollutantsfromenergy

production;contributingtosmaller

andlighterelectronicsandbetter

batteries;andnewwaystotreat

disease.Nanoparticleswillbe

essentialtoourfuturelives.

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES13

Materialsand

Advanced

ManufacturingSHOWCASETECHNOLOGY:

Metamaterials

Whatisit?Metamaterialscanbe

formedfromtraditionalmaterials

thatareeasytofindinanynaturalenvironment.Theyareengineeredstructuresdesignedtointeractwithelectromagneticradiation.These

structuresareverysmall,usually

smallerthanthewavelengthof

theradiationtheyareinteracting

with.Theseso-calledmeta-atomscaninteractwiththeelectricand

magneticcomponentsoflightina

waythatnaturalatomsdonot,givingmetamaterialsunusualproperties.

Whyisitinteresting?When

metamaterialsareengineered

inanintelligentandinnovative

designtheybehaveinamazing

ways.Theyoperateatthesub-

wavelengthlevelofferingpropertiesneverfoundinnature,whichextendthewaylightandmatterinteract.

Thisopensupmanynewsensingandotherpossibilities.

Whatindustriescouldusethis?

Transport,medical,scientific

research,telecommunications,

energy,creativeindustry.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?

Sciencefictionmeetsrealitywith

metamaterials.Theycouldmake

substanceswithwhichtheyinteract

invisible–givingrisetothepossibility

ofareal-lifeinvisibilitycloak!

Harnessinginvisibilitycouldremove

blindspotsincars,enableustocreate

moreprecisemedicalimagingor

telecommunicationsantennae,and

significantlyimprovetheefficiency

ofsolarpowergenerators.

Whatdoweneedtostart

discussing?Fundingandsupport

forthesciencebehindmetamaterials

isabigissue.Wethenneedtothink

abouthowtheycanbetranslated

intocommercialisedproducts.

substanceswithwhich

“Theycouldmake

theyinteractinvisible

–givingrisetothe

possibilityofareal-

lifeinvisibilitycloak!”

INSIGHTSREPORT:INNOVATEUK’S50EMERGINGTECHNOLOGIES14

Electronics,

Photonics

andQuantumTechnologies

Theworldofdigital

andelectronicshave

transformedhowwelive

overthepastfewdecades.

Theemergingdevelopmentsonthesepagessuggest

aneweraisonthehorizonoffaster,lighter,smarter

technology.Theywillallowustodomorewithless.

Therearerealtechnologicalchallengestoovercome,

butiftheyare,theycouldchangeeveryaspectof

ourlives,fromhealthcareandcomputingthrough

tocuttingourenergybills.

Electronics,

Photonics

SHOWCASETECHNOLOGY:

andQuantum

Technologies

Alternativeandnovel

semiconductorsystems

Whatindustriescouldusethis?

Almosteveryindustryisaffectedbythistechnology.Keyusesarein6G,photonicsandpowerelectronics.

Howcoulditchangeourlives?NextgenerationWBGsemiconductorswillbesmaller,faster,moreefficientandmorereliablethancurrenttypes.Thiswillhelpcreatelighter,moreenergy-

efficientdevices.

Whatdoweneedtostart

discussing?Howwewillsupply

themineralsandmaterialsneededtoproducenovelsemiconductors,approachestointernational

collaboration,andunderstandingtheroleofUKindustryinnovel

semiconductorsupplychains.

Whatisit?Asemiconductoris

asubstanceordevicethatconducts

electricityundercertainconditions

butnotothers,usedinmany

electricalappliances.Thenext

generatio