Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025

Remarkable innovations emerge from research labs every year, creating unprecedented opportunities to address humanity's greatest challenges.

The Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2025, developed in collaboration with Frontiers, highlights 10 innovations with the potential to reshape industries and societies. Based on expert nominations and rigorous foresight evaluation, the report spans from structural battery composites and engineered living therapeutics to osmotic power and AI-generated content watermarking. Each entry explores scientific progress, strategic impact, and ecosystem readiness across five dimensions.

The findings provide leaders with a forward-looking lens to harness transformative technologies for sustainable growth, resilience and inclusive innovation.

1. Structural battery composites
Structural battery composites (SBCs) combine energy storage and structural strength in a single material, reducing weight and improving efficiency in vehicles and aircraft. Though still emerging, SBCs offer major sustainability and cost benefits. Challenges remain in performance, safety and regulation before widespread adoption can be achieved.

2. Osmotic power systems
Osmotic power systems generate clean, steady energy from differences in water salinity using membranes. Recent advances in materials and design have revived this once-stalled technology. With pilot plants under way, osmotic power offers promise for sustainable electricity, water purification and resource recovery, pending further investment and cost reduction.

3. Advanced nuclear technologies
As energy demand surges, advanced nuclear technologies are gaining momentum. Innovations like small modular reactors (SMRs) and next-gen cooling systems promise safer, cheaper, and scalable green energy. With global investment rising, fission leads near-term deployment while fusion remains a long-term goal for a zero-carbon energy future.

4. Engineered living therapeutics
Engineered living therapeutics are modified microbes or cells that produce drugs inside the body, offering targeted, sustained treatment with lower costs and fewer side effects. Enabled by synthetic biology, this approach could transform chronic disease care. Key challenges remain around safety, regulation and large-scale clinical approval.

5. GLP-1s for neurogenerative disease
GLP-1 drugs, originally for diabetes and obesity, show promise in treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s due to their neuroprotective effects. Early studies suggest benefits like reduced brain inflammation and improved cell function. While results are encouraging, more clinical trials and regulatory steps are needed to confirm effectiveness and accessibility.

6. Autonomous biochemical sensing
Autonomous biochemical sensors continuously detect health or environmental markers without human input, using wireless, self-powered systems. Enabled by advances in bioengineering and nanotech, they offer real-time monitoring for applications like glucose tracking or pollution detection. Key challenges include sensor lifespan, cost and regulatory concerns around engineered organisms.

7. Green nitrogen fixation
Green nitrogen fixation aims to reduce the high carbon footprint of conventional ammonia production, essential for global food supply. Emerging methods use renewable energy, engineered microbes or lithium-based systems to produce ammonia more sustainably. While still early-stage, these innovations could localize production and decarbonize agriculture and shipping.

8. Nanozymes
Nanozymes are synthetic nanomaterials that mimic natural enzymes, offering greater stability, lower costs and broader functionality. They’re advancing rapidly in medicine, particularly for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as in environmental cleanup and food safety. With a projected $57.95 billion market by 2034, commercialization is accelerating despite regulatory and technical hurdles.

9. Collaborative sensing
Collaborative sensing connects everyday sensors across homes, cities and vehicles into AI-powered intelligent networks. These systems enable real-time, shared decision-making for applications like traffic control, environmental monitoring, and autonomous vehicles. Key challenges include data privacy, power constraints, and developing multi-modal algorithms for seamless sensor integration.

10. Generative AI watermarking
Generative AI watermarking embeds invisible markers in text, images, audio and video to verify authenticity and trace origins. As AI content proliferates, these technologies help combat misinformation and protect intellectual property. While adoption is growing, challenges like evasion, lack of standards and ethical concerns still need resolution.