The World Economic Forum picks the 10 most promising innovations of the moment. Javier García Martínez, a member of the selection committee, shared his experience.
In 2020, the use of renewable energy was highlighted, which is one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels. Photo: Pexels
The World Economic Forum selects the ten most promising innovations, but in order to do so, it must have a group of appropriate experts who have a broad and detailed vision of the technology and, often, experience in the industry.
For this reason, Javier García Martínez, a Spanish chemist, entrepreneur, researcher and university professor, has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a young global leader and by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as one of the most innovative young people of his generation. was recognized. With the award TR35 and in June 2014 it was awarded the Ray Jaime I Award in its category of new technologies, reports that the selection of the ten emerging technologies of the year begins through a very open process, with each member having the most Can propose interesting innovations that you have identified to defend them to the rest of the group.
In a series of meetings, the list has been narrowed down to just ten techniques, trying to ensure that they represent a variety of disciplines and scientific fields.
top emerging technologies
García Martínez confirmed that, in 2014, when there was no talk of COVID-19, techniques based on messenger RNA were chosen, emphasizing that, via an intramuscular injection, the patient’s own cells They can manufacture the proteins produced by them. influence.
Experts point out that this allowed the technology behind key COVID-19 vaccines to advance, especially since Moderna’s founder, Nubar Afyan, was part of the expert committee.
In 2013, progress was made in the recovery of carbon dioxide (CO2), converting this waste into products responsible for global warming with high added value.
In 2020, the photo-conversion of CO2 into solar fuels was selected, that is, the possibility of producing hydrocarbons similar to hydrocarbons derived from oil using only CO2, water and sunlight, in a process reminiscent of photosynthesis. In the same year, the use of renewable energy to produce hydrogen, one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels, was highlighted.
Recently there has been talk of green ammonia, which is produced using hydrogen from renewable energy instead of natural gas or coal, making it possible to obtain fertilizer without using fossil fuels.
In 2016, it was predicted that the Internet of Things would become a “nanothings”. Today, thanks to advances in nanosensors, this prediction is already a reality, as evidenced by its application in medicine, precision agriculture and intelligent monitoring.
In 2017, the use of deep learning in image analysis was highlighted. New algorithms allow computers to find hidden patterns that people often overlook.
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