New Technologies Report (Intec) 2025
-
Introduction INTEC 2025: a roadmap for innovation in complex times
This INTEC Report 2025 is intended as a roadmap for those who want to transform society with an inclusive vision, for the benefit of citizens in this time of turmoil.
-
1. Abundant materials for critical raw materials
On the road to economic and environmental sustainability, one of the major innovation challenges for the global chemical industry will be to find new alternatives to so-called critical raw materials.
-
2. Artificial Intelligence Managed Health Systems
With 4.5 billion people without access to essential healthcare services, artificial intelligence (AI) could help close the gap, but healthcare is below average in AI adoption compared to other sectors.
-
3. Nuclear energy without uranium
The international energy community was startled in the spring of 2025 when Chinese scientists announced that they had successfully added fresh fuel to a thorium molten salt reactor, a technological milestone.
-
4. New diagnostic technologies: biosensors, wearables and implantables
Biosensors for disease diagnosis aim to detect and monitor changes in these factors, but they have yet to overcome several challenges.
-
5. The ‘third way’ of quantum algorithms
While quantum hardware tends to get the most headlines in the media, it is quantum software that has made remarkable progress in just a few years.
-
6. Food biotechnology as a defence system
Recent crises, increased uncertainty in supply chains and extreme events associated with climate change have shown that food security has become a key geo-strategic issue.
-
7. Autonomous vehicle takes control of the steering wheel
Robotaxis have already demonstrated their technological viability and, as mentioned in the previous section, are being implemented on a large scale in cities in the United States and China. Both countries have more than 30 cities with trials, more than the rest of the world combined.
-
8. Artificial intelligence in antibiotic discovery
Recent advances in protein structure prediction and machine learning-driven molecule generation offer compelling reasons to revisit rational drug design.
-
9. The technological race of geospatial observation
EO (Earth observation) data accounts for about 86% of the data generated in the space applications segment. Satellite observation is expected to generate more than two exabytes (2 billion gigabytes) of accumulated data by 2032, although its volume and complexity have historically made it difficult to apply in via-able solutions.
-
10. Smart and secure electricity grids
The transition to a world with zero net emissions must be supported by larger, more robust and smarter electricity grids, as global electricity consumption is expected to grow 20% faster in the next decade than in the previous decade.