The editorial team of MIT Technology Review is constantly searching for promising technologies that could shape our future. At the start of a new year, the US edition focuses on specific approaches with great potential, believing they might soon experience breakthroughs.
Breakthroughs can be interpreted in many ways. It might be a scientific advance enabling a new technology, or a company receiving approval for a crucial medical treatment. Perhaps a consumer device has reached a turning point in its adoption, or an industrial technology has successfully completed a critical pilot phase. These advancements can occur across various fields, and it’s always exciting to see which technologies our editors believe hold the most potential.
However, some candidates inevitably fall short. Nonetheless, it’s worth keeping an eye on them, and we certainly will. These include:
Virtual Power Plants
Virtual power plants are energy systems that connect various technologies to both generate and store electricity. They allow energy providers to link solar panels and wind turbines with grid batteries and electric vehicles, improving the management of power flow in the grid.
In times of peak electricity demand, software connected to smart meters might automatically decide to supply power to a customer’s home by drawing electricity from a fully charged electric vehicle in a neighbor’s garage, thereby reducing demand on the grid. The software could also calculate compensation for the vehicle owner.
In the US, there are an estimated 500 virtual power plants with a capacity of up to 60 gigawatts, roughly equivalent to the total capacity added to the US grid this year. Similar plants are operational in China, Japan, Croatia, and Taiwan. However, many more virtual power plants need to be configured before their benefits can impact the entire grid.
Useful AI Agents
AI agents are currently experiencing a peak. These AI-driven assistants are purportedly planning our schedules, booking our trips, and handling various online tasks on our behalf. Agents use generative models to learn how to navigate websites and desktop software (and manage our passwords and credit card information). They might also interact and coordinate with other people’s agents.
There is genuine development behind this. Salesforce recently launched a platform for companies to create their own customer service agents, and the Claude model from Anthropic is gaining the ability to navigate a computer using a mouse and keyboard, just like humans.
However, a significant challenge remains in enabling these agents to understand what you mean when making specific requests and reliably execute the required actions. Given the enormous hurdles, it will likely be a while before they are good enough to be truly useful. AI agents may be on the horizon, but not just yet.
Flying Taxis
The acronym eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) is a bit cumbersome, so they are more commonly known as “flying taxis.” They can be imagined as electric helicopters. Most versions in development are not intended for private use but piloted to transport commuters from suburbs or visitors from airports to city centers. One day, these flying taxis might also fly autonomously, as the industry promises.
There has been genuine progress in the introduction of flying taxis. Earlier this year, the manufacturer eHang received the first Chinese certificate for mass production of this type of vehicle and began accepting orders. South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have taken steps to enable flying taxi operations there. In the US, Archer recently received FAA certification to commence commercial operations. In October, the FAA finalized rules for pilot training and flying taxi operations—the first time in decades that the agency has approved such rules for a new aircraft category. However, there is no progress for the flying taxi startup Lilium, which seemed promising but filed for bankruptcy in October.
Interest and momentum have increased in recent years. Major companies in the aviation industry, including Boeing and Airbus, have invested in startups or funded internal research and development projects to develop these futuristic aircraft. However, no eVTOL company has yet commenced commercial operations, which we will continue to monitor.