Top ten technologies tipped

WITH SO MUCH new technology appearing on the horizon it's hard to tell what will actually make it into production but analyst firm Frost & Sullivan has proffered up its top ten tech tips to point us in the right direction.

While Frost reckons that 85 per cent of research tech will never see the light of day, investors, researchers and other interested parties will want to be looking into the following technologies: nanomaterials, flexible electronics, advanced batteries and energy storage, smart materials, green IT, solar, 3D integration, autonomous systems, white biotech and lasers.

"Thanks to substantial advances in nanotech-enabled products, the markets for nanomaterials including nanotubes and nanocomposites will flourish in the coming decade," said Ankit Shukla, industry manager for Frost & Sullivan's Technical Insights Group.

"Similarly, flexible electronics, for example smart plastic used in ultra thin chip packages and flexible printed batteries, have applications in diverse industries including global medical devices, military, food packaging, supply chain, and consumer electronics markets, among others."

As our demand for increasingly powerful portable electronics continues to soar, the thin film batteries (TFB), advanced batteries and energy storage markets will continue to benefit from increased R&D, led initially by use in military applications.

Smart materials, such as self-repairing plastic products and smart polymers for biomedical applications, are another major focus point. These devices are developed to sense changes in the surrounding environment and respond predictably and as a result hold immense potential across a wide range of industries.

"Piezoelectric materials, which are useful in the production and detection of sound, generation of high voltages, electronic frequency generation, microbalances and ultra fine focusing of optical assemblies, are expected to be among the fastest growth areas with a major portion of the overall market, according to Frost & Sullivan findings," added Shukla.

Adding Green IT to the list may seem like a bit of a cop out, it's a buzz word that covers just about every sector of the industry, but with IT accounting around 18 per cent of the world's power consumption, work in energy efficiency is a big deal for Frost.

On a related note, Frost sees solar power, specifically the development of Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) solar panels, as a great opportunity thanks to its technological advantages, low manufacturing costs and high yield rates.

Frost & Sullivan also recognises autonomous systems as the next important technology. To date, the majority of developments in this area have been military projects, but civilian and public sector demand is also picking up.

White biotech, the use of micro-organisms and biological catalysts like enzymes in the production of bio-based chemicals, materials and fuels, is considered by many to be the wild card here, but Frost predicts that the market will exceed $72bn by 2014.

The last tip from Frost covers the world of lasers, including solid state, fibre, Ti:sapphire, diode, CO2, helium and neon are expected to go from strength to strength over the course of the next five years at least thanks to their use in industrial applications as well as the medical, communication, semiconductor and military spheres.

What will and won't make the cut remains to be seen, but with research in each of these technologies having continued through the recession, it's a good bet that Frost and Sullivan is on to some winners here. µ