Ten new technologies, identified in international organisation the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) 'Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report 2026', are approaching a critical inflection point where advances in research are beginning to translate into large-scale, real-world applications.
Many of the technologies highlighted in the report indicate that systems may become more distributed, personalised and resource-efficient over time.
“The new technologies reveal new patterns across energy, medicine and manufacturing that could challenge long-held assumptions about how we use technology to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as food insecurity, climate change and untreatable diseases,” says WEF MD Stephan Mergenthaler.
For example, one of the ten new technologies identified in the report is direct lithium extraction (DLE), which removes lithium from brine in hours rather than months, while using less land and water than conventional methods. This process could unlock new sources of a critical battery material and strengthen supply chains.
Another emerging technology is everything-to-grid energy, as buildings, vehicles, factories and data centres can increasingly act as both energy consumers and suppliers, and send stored electricity back to electricity grids when needed.
