2.1 Today

Nanomaterials have at least one dimension smaller than 100 nanometers , meaning they are smaller than a human immunodeficiency virus. Recent advances have led to more efficient methods for their synthesis, manipulation, and application. They are increasingly used in fields such as biomedicine, electronics, industrial chemistry, energy, consumer products, and environmental engineering.

Nanomechanics makes it possible to create materials with unusual properties, such as increased strength, rigidity or conductivity Catalytic nanoparticles , tiny particles manufactured with a relatively large surface area, can enable faster or more efficient chemical reactions.Other nanomaterials can self-assemble, change their properties in response to stimuli, and even “repair” themselves when damaged.

2.2 Tomorrow

Over the next 5 to 10 years, nanomaterials are likely to have an increasingly significant impact on our society and economy.

Catalytic nanoparticles could be used to break down environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, dyes, and chlorinated organic compounds in lakes and streams. Nanoparticles can make solar energy more efficient by capturing longer, less energetic wavelengths of light.

Nanomaterials could also improve the quality and performance of products such as coatings, composites, textiles, and cosmetics. Advances in nanoelectronics could lead to the creation of faster, smaller, or more efficient devices and systems, from mobile phones and laptops to smartwatches. Electric vehicles could become more environmentally friendly through the use of lighter and more conductive nanomaterials.

Smart materials that adapt to changing situations could improve the resilience of infrastructure, such as power grids, communication networks, and transportation systems. For example, self-healing concrete could repair itself naturally when it cracks.

2.3 Consequences – future impacts

Research and development of nanomaterials can be costly, and further challenges arise in producing them safely and on a large scale. Nevertheless, they also offer significant strategic opportunities.

1. Supercharged chemical reactions and self-healing materials can potentially improve sustainability in many areas of life .
2. Nanocatalysts that improve fertilizer efficiency could make agriculture more sustainable and improve food security .
3. Self-repairing objects that constantly mend and repair themselves could help reduce consumer and industrial waste .
4. Some nanoparticles can endanger human or environmental health and could be very difficult to find and eliminate in uncontrolled environments.
5. The widespread use of nanomaterials could pose new challenges to regulators and safety agencies , and raise public concerns about the safety of food, consumer goods and the environment.

3.1 Today

Batteries power portable electronic devices, from laptops and smartphones to medical equipment. They power vehicles and enable grid-scale energy storage. Intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, are thus becoming more valuable contributors to energy systems.

Researchers are improving lithium-ion batteries, which dominate the market despite some limitations. New lithium batteries using less rare materials could reduce costs and environmental impact, while also improving battery life.

Solid-state batteries promise to be smaller, lighter, and charge faster. Sodium-ion, magnesium-ion, and organic batteries could become other viable solutions.

3.2 Tomorrow

Battery technology has the potential to reshape several sectors over the next 5 to 10 years.

It could give grids more flexibility to store energy from solar and wind farms for use at night, when the wind dies down, or during peak energy demand. This would reduce the need to rely on coal and natural gas power plants.

Households could also store energy using new battery technologies. This would help them consume more electricity at off-peak hours and better withstand grid disruptions.

New battery technologies could shift priorities in the mining sector , potentially leading to higher demand for materials such as sodium and magnesium, and a reduced need for cobalt, nickel, and manganese. This could impact ecosystems and local communities.

The development of battery technology could create a greater demand for skilled workers , engineers, technicians, and data analysts to manufacture, install, and maintain batteries in sectors such as aerospace, defense, robotics, and biotechnology.

3.3 Consequences – future impacts

The widespread adoption of grid-scale battery technology still faces obstacles, such as investment costs, institutional commitment, and technical and safety issues. Looking ahead, the main considerations are:

1. Demand for fossil fuels could decrease, which would have an impact on countries that produce and export fossil fuels.
2. The transition to batteries offers new recycling opportunities, rather than the consumption of natural resources.
3. Countries that invest in battery research and development could lead the energy revolution.

4.1 Today

Automated transportation is becoming a reality in many places. AI systems, trained on large amounts of data, use sensors and cameras to navigate vehicles safely and efficiently through complex environments without human intervention.Automated systems are becoming the primary operators of industrial vehicles.

4.2 Tomorrow

Over the next 5 to 10 years, automation could transform supply chains and logistics systems.

Self-driving cars promise to reduce traffic congestion, accidents, and emissions, while also being more convenient for users. In industrial transportation systems, automation could improve productivity by optimizing routes and increasing capacity. We could see more automated drones, trains, and ships delivering packages and goods.

Self-driving trucks could transport goods over long distances without driver fatigue or human error. Cooperative truck platooning , in which centralized control allows trucks to travel closer together by accelerating or braking simultaneously, could make freight transport faster and more efficient.

This could encourage the development of smart highways that integrate automated vehicles while monitoring and reacting to environmental conditions. In the future, other vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence could automatically join and leave the fleet.

Automated construction vehicles such as pavers and excavators could build and maintain modular structures on a large scale. In agriculture, vehicles such as tractors and combine harvesters could soon operate without direct human intervention thanks to GPS, laser guidance, obstacle detection, and performance optimization systems.

4.3 Consequences – future impacts

The automation of transportation could impact the approximately 500,000 Canadian jobs in the transportation sector. This could create both challenges and opportunities for workers, businesses, and policymakers.

1. The widespread automation of transportation could erode a range of traditional skills associated with the handling and transport of goods, as well as infrastructure maintenance.
2. The automation of transport could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which would significantly reduce the carbon footprint .
3. It could boost economic productivity , make logistics more efficient and create new jobs in the technology and data analytics sectors.
4. It could make road transport much safer by reducing the number of accidents , lawsuits, and consequently, insurance costs. However, new factors, such as AI, could render existing regulatory and liability systems obsolete.
5. Vehicles and infrastructure connected or powered by AI could create new vulnerabilities to cyberattacks or accidental failures that cascade down to systems critical to productivity, prosperity, and public safety.
6. The private sector can ask governments to consider regulations that facilitate the deployment of automated systems .

5.1 Today

Geoengineering, which involves deliberately altering the Earth’s climate , is no longer science fiction. Some examples are uncontroversial, such as planting more trees to absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere.

Solar energy technology , which aims to cool the planet by reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth, is the subject of more in-depth debate. One approach, stratospheric aerosol injection , involves spraying tiny aerosols of sulfuric acid into the stratosphere. These particles reflect sunlight back into space, similar to large volcanic eruptions. Experimentation is currently underway.

Cloud clearing is another form of solar energy currently under investigation. It involves spraying tiny aerosols of salt water into the air from ships to condense surface clouds. Attempts have been made to use it to cool the waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

5.2 Tomorrow

Within 5 to 10 years, research and experimentation with these and other geoengineering methods could lead to practical interventions impacting global climate change mitigation efforts.

Solar energy could help lower global temperatures . The United Nations estimates that an investment of $20 billion per year in aerosol injection could offset 1 degree Celsius of global warming.

However, it could also have undesirable effects. Injecting sulfate aerosols can deplete the ozone layer, allowing more ultraviolet radiation to reach Earth and increasing acid rain. The benefits and drawbacks of geoengineering projects can be unevenly distributed . For example, solar energy could dry out parts of the planet where vulnerable communities live, such as the Amazon rainforest and East Africa.

Agricultural yields and disease patterns may change , altering living conditions and migration patterns. These changes could also lead to conflicts over resources and land. Unilateral deployments of geoengineering projects may encounter counter-deployments from countries that have been negatively impacted.

5.3 Consequences – future impacts

The use of geoengineering to address the climate crisis risks undermining incentives to limit greenhouse gas emissions . If this is the case, geoengineering efforts may need to be continually intensified to offset increased emissions, with heightened risks to ecosystems and biodiversity.

In the long term, geoengineering could disrupt sectors such as agriculture, real estate, and insurance. Despite these concerns, geoengineering could offer considerable advantages:

1. If the climate transition is not fast enough to stop the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, geoengineering may be the only way to stem the rise in sea level caused by polar warming.
2. Geoengineering technologies could create new industries and jobs , such as the development of cloud-clearing drones and the management of large-scale reforestation projects.
3. Unintended repercussions on ecosystems, biodiversity or natural spaces could make geoengineering a catalyst for social unrest and mistrust .
4. Given that geoengineering will have geopolitical implications, it could foster the emergence of international frameworks for monitoring and cooperation .

6.1 Today

Spatial computing combines the virtual and physical worlds. It uses a range of technologies, such as headsets and smartphones, that support augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).

Spatial computing enhances how we visualize, simulate, and interact with digital data . It can create fully immersive experiences (VR). It can overlay virtual digital information onto real-world environments (AR). It can enable people to interact with virtual elements, for example, by transforming physical surfaces into touch interfaces (RM).By collecting and analyzing data about the world, such as lighting or soil conditions or traffic flows, it can present information that helps users make better decisions in real time.

6.2 Tomorrow

Within 5 to 10 years, the evolution of spatial computing could give it an importance comparable to that of the Internet and smartphones. The relatively simple bridge that exists today between the digital and physical worlds could become a multi-level, multimodal, and ubiquitous portal.

Instead of cumbersome headsets, we could routinely wear smart glasses or even contact lenses that would allow us to seamlessly interact with the digital content of our environment. VR, AR, and MR tools for remote engagement and collaboration could unlock new possibilities in fields ranging from art to information, and from advocacy to public policy decision-making. The Internet of Things could equip more objects with sensors to collect real-time physical data, enabling spatial computing to become part of more powerful and far-reaching decision-making systems .

Spatial computing could transform training and education . Instead of reading a manual about a process, trainees could learn by doing, using VR to simulate real-world scenarios. When the virtual environment includes AI-generated characters, it can be used to practice managing difficult interpersonal situations.

New 3D image capture technologies could facilitate the creation of ”  digital twins  ” of the real world. Digital twins could be used to simulate real-world scenarios; for example, how a self-driving car approaches an intersection or the best way to fight a forest fire.

6.3 Consequences – future impacts

To realize the potential of space computing, we may need to address concerns about privacy and surveillance in smart environments, improve our understanding of the risks associated with digital dependency, and develop expertise in spatial design and user experience. If these issues can be addressed, space computing could offer significant benefits, but also present challenges:

1. The possibilities offered by spatial computing could enable new forms of harassment or contextual disinformation that are more difficult to counter than current forms.
2. These same opportunities could create new possibilities for meaningful connections between people, which would help address current challenges related to isolation, loneliness, and belonging.
3. By presenting users with real-time contextual information, it can improve the efficiency of decision-making and collaboration .
4. By enabling physically distant individuals to interact more meaningfully, spatial computing can improve service delivery to people in Canada through remote consultations.
5. Improving access to higher-quality information and models could strengthen public trust in policy decisions and institutions . On the other hand, trust can still decline if questions remain about the validity of online information and models, or about the safety and security of space computing platforms.