Focus Topic 2017/2018
GameChanger
In the context of the research topic GameChanger, the Forseight team identifies developments that have the potential to completely change the rules of existing markets and companies.
The world continues to evolve – new technologies are discovered, political decisions are taken, and social trends emerge. To prepare Evonik for these changes, Foresight has made “GameChanger” its focus topic 2017/2018. On the basis of extensive criteria, Foresight has identified 24 game changers and developed action areas through which Evonik can prepare itself optimally for future developments. This enables the company, for example, to recognize negative market influences at an early stage, to protect itself from these influences, and to make optimal use of opportunities in new growth markets.
For Foresight to identify a change as a game changer, the following criteria must be met: The change must reasonably be expected to occur within 25 years and it must have a visible effect on humans, the planet, or entrepreneurial profits. It must also have long-term effects and not be just a temporary phenomenon. For the Foresight team, game changers can also be events, developments, or technologies. They do not include people or companies. Examples from the past include the steam engine, the break-up of the Soviet Union, and the internet including social media—in some cases, these developments caused lasting changes to entire societies.
Age of Genomics
Designed Genes: Gene editing defeats diseases and brings species back to life.
Bots
Bots Take Over: Hyper-automation of the world through autonomous soft-and hardware.
Cashless Society
Cash is Going Virtual: More convenience or just more surveillance?
Circular Economy
Wasteless: Closed-loop material flows turn waste into resources.
De-Globalization
Back to Local Villages: Nationalism trumps further integration.
Efficient Energy Storage
Energy Everywhere: Energy becomes available whenever and wherever needed.
Climate Change Adaptation
Climate Change seems Inevitable: Focus shifts from mitigating to adapting to the consequences.
Deep De-Carbonization
Governments Take Their Gloves Off: Radical mitigation targets enforced to stop global warming.
End of...
That´s it – Maybe: A number of critical resources might run short.
Flexible Production Paradigm
Batch Size One: Mass production and individualization become best friends.
Food Supply Chain Revolution
The Lab as Farmland: Artificial meat and vertical farms will feed the world.
Life Extension
Death has to wait: As people get older and older, 100 becomes the new 60!
New Construction Principles
Lego-like Construction: Houses from the assembly line.
New Means of Private Transport
Hands Off the Steering Wheel: Autonomous driving and flying redefines how people get from A to B.
Rise of Micronation
Be Your Own King: From obscure phenomenon to havens of innovation and growth.
Second Space Age
Gold Rush to the Stars: The prospect of resources leads to a new space race.
Sharing Movements
Progress through Openness: Sharing and collaboration replace secretiveness and patent
Singularity
Man´s Last Invention: The coming age of an artificial intelligence explosion.
Spread of Diseases
The Eternal Enemy: Old and new diseases pose real threat to humankind.
Super Fast Travel
Distance Doesn´s Matter: New technologies transport people faster than sound.
UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME
Basic Income, No Strings Attached: What would you do?
WETWARE
Cyborgs: Living organisms and technology merge.
“ZERO” COST ENERGY
Electrification of Everything: Cost of electricity generation approaches zero.
New and Affordable Advanced Materials
Now on SALE: Next generation materials with superior properties become available for mass applications.