The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report 2026, identifying a suite of innovations poised to transform energy, healthcare, and infrastructure over the next three to five years. Unveiled during the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China, the report highlights technologies that are approaching a critical stage where scientific advances are translating into real-world applications, according to the WEF.
Key Technologies Identified
The report features 10 technologies spanning sectors including energy, medicine, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Among them are everything-to-grid energy systems, direct lithium extraction, passive radiative cooling materials, personalised mRNA cancer vaccines, exosome drug delivery, quantum simulation for drug discovery, and lattice-based cryptography.
These innovations are expected to significantly expand access to energy, healthcare, and critical infrastructure while reducing dependence on geography and traditional resource constraints, the WEF stated.
Broader Patterns in Innovation
Stephan Mergenthaler, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum, commented: "While each of these technologies has the potential to make a meaningful impact on its own, together they tell a broader story about where innovation is heading." He added that the 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."
Impact on Energy and Manufacturing
According to the report, innovations such as everything-to-grid energy systems, direct lithium extraction, and precision fermentation could make production systems less reliant on centralised infrastructure and conventional geographic advantages. This shift could enable more distributed and resource-efficient systems, potentially allowing services and production closer to the point of use.
Advances in Healthcare
In healthcare, personalised mRNA cancer vaccines and exosome-based drug delivery may support more targeted and individualised treatments, moving away from one-size-fits-all approaches. These technologies are part of a trend toward more precise and patient-specific therapies.
Conditions for Success
The report cautioned that the ultimate success of these technologies will depend on factors such as infrastructure readiness, regulatory frameworks, manufacturing capabilities, public trust, and long-term investment. Without these enabling conditions, even the most promising innovations may struggle to achieve widespread adoption.
Frederick Fenter, Chief Executive Editor of Frontiers, emphasised the role of scientific collaboration: "Open science enables researchers around the world to build on one another's work, accelerating discovery while improving transparency and trust."
Collaborative Development
The report was developed in collaboration with Frontiers and the Dubai Future Foundation. It also examines the conditions that could shape the adoption and scaling of these technologies through 2031, providing a roadmap for policymakers, investors, and industry leaders.
