Get Ready for 2026: 10 Emerging Technologies That Will Change Our World

A new report from the World Economic Forum, in partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation, has revealed the top 10 emerging technologies for 2026. These innovations are poised to move from development stages to widespread commercial and societal applications within the next three to five years. The report highlights a range of technologies that blend digital transformation, sustainability, and medical innovation. Their applications are vast, from reshaping energy systems and supply chains to developing more precise treatments and boosting the capabilities of artificial intelligence and future computing.

Energy Shifts from Consumption to Grid Participation

The "Energy from Everything to Grid" technology is one of the top innovations expected to expand. It allows buildings, vehicles, factories, and data centers to transform from mere energy consumers into sources capable of feeding stored electricity back into grids when needed. This boosts energy efficiency and helps stabilize electrical networks.

New Solutions for Secure Minerals and Clean Energy

Direct lithium extraction stands out as a significant development in the energy sector. This technology allows us to get lithium, used in energy storage batteries, from brine solutions in hours instead of months. It also uses less land and water compared to traditional methods. The list also includes passive radiative cooling materials. These materials work by reflecting sunlight and releasing heat into the atmosphere, cooling buildings and equipment without using electricity. This could significantly reduce energy demand, especially in hot regions.

Environmental Technologies to Tackle Complex Pollutants

For environmental sustainability, the report highlights technologies that accelerate the degradation of "forever chemicals" (PFAS). These aim to break down compounds that resist traditional treatment methods, paving the way for more effective water purification and reducing environmental pollutants. The report also notes precision fermentation, which uses microorganisms to produce specific components and materials with higher efficiency. This offers new ways to manufacture food, chemicals, and medicines using fewer resources.

Anticipated Leaps in Disease Treatment and Drug Development

In the medical sector, exosome-based drug delivery is listed among the promising innovations. This technology uses natural particles produced by cells, which can be engineered to precisely deliver treatments to specific areas within the body, including hard-to-reach therapeutic targets like the brain. The report also shines a light on personalized mRNA cancer vaccines. These work by training the immune system to recognize mutations specific to each tumor, significantly boosting the chances of preventing disease recurrence after treatment.

AI and Quantum Computing Lead the Next Generation of Innovation

The list includes quantum simulation for drug discovery, which helps researchers study molecular interactions with greater accuracy and speed up the discovery of new drug compounds. This leverages quantum computing's power to process complex operations. In the field of artificial intelligence, the report points to AI world models. These models give systems a greater ability to understand physical environments by analyzing multiple types of data, enhancing their potential for prediction, planning, and interacting with the real world. The report concludes its list of emerging technologies with lattice-based cryptography. This aims to protect data from decryption risks posed by current or future quantum computers, thereby securing digital infrastructure as computing technologies rapidly evolve.