If necessity is the mother of invention, existential crises tend to be the great accelerators. The urgent need to address climate change, collapsing food systems, the next pandemic, and other global challenges is mobilizing investors, companies, researchers, and governments to speed the development of a raft of once-futuristic technologies with far-reaching business implications.
ChatGPT’s arrival in November 2022 reminded us of the transformative power of a breakthrough technology. Academics and tech companies had been experimenting with generative AI for years. Then, suddenly, it was at everyone’s front door, disrupting their business. Two years earlier, we were amazed by the seemingly miraculous development of COVID 19 vaccines in nine months using mRNA, a molecular biology technology conceived in the 1960s.
What other game-changing technologies that have gestated for years in labs and pilot plants may be approaching their “ChatGPT moment”—the point when they become commercially viable, scale up, and redefine industries? We asked BCG experts why they believe five—synthetic biology, quantum computing, fusion energy, direct air capture, and CO2 to X—are nearing inflection points in the next one or two decades.
The Technologies at a Glance
Synthetic Biology Is Getting Closer to Industrial Scale
As a coming generation of large biomanufacturing facilities slashes costs, sustainable materials made from organisms based on nature’s design principles are poised to go mainstream.
CO2 to X Could Help Solve “Sustainability Scarcity”
A technology revolution in chemicals will enable companies to transform captured CO2 into green compounds that can replace hydrocarbons in everything from plastics to fuels.
Quantum Computing’s “ChatGPT Moment” Could Be Sooner Than You Think
Machines harnessing quantum mechanics to solve incredibly complex problems could start delivering real value to companies in a few years, triggering a takeoff in investment.
A Fusion Future Is No Longer Wishful Thinking
Technological breakthroughs and growing investment are bringing the vision of harnessing the process that powers the sun to meet our energy needs closer to reality.
Direct Air Capture Is About to Go from Intriguing to Essential
The hard realities of climate change are driving rapid technological progress–and growing market demand—for systems that permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere.