Technology

Over the past years, European industry players have acquired a significant know-how that they can value on the promising global offshore wind market. Yet, competition is still at an early stage and many non-European stakeholders have taken shares in projects in the North Sea, hoping to gain similar expertise before wandering to other shores. Support policies have recently moved to competitive tenders ad, combined with a growing technological lead, the have contributed to a remarkable fall in prices announced for projects to be commissioned after 2018. Offshore wind represents a strategic opportunity for Europe but requires strong investments in grid infrastructures. While each national government is currently defining its own targets and support schemes, cross-border coordination is imperative to guarantee the integration of massive wind production at minimal cost.

A digital revolution is sweeping the global energy sector. As energy industries produce ever more data, firms are harnessing greater computing power, advances in data science, and increased digital connectivity to exploit that data. These trends have the potential to transform the way energy is produced, transported, and consumed.
An important potential benefit of this digital transformation of energy is a reduction in global emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change; the elimination of such emissions from the global economy is known as decarbonization. By enabling clean energy systems that rely on low-carbon energy sources and are highly efficient in using energy, digital innovations in the energy sector can speed decarbonization. Yet they are not guaranteed to do so. In fact, digital innovations could well increase global greenhouse emissions, for example, by making it easier to extract fossil fuels.

As cities get smarter, they are becoming more livable and more responsive—and today we are seeing only a preview of what technology could eventually do in the urban environment.
Until recently, city leaders thought of smart technologies primarily as tools for becoming more efficient behind the scenes. Now technology is being injected more directly into the lives of residents. Smartphones have become the keys to the city, putting instant information about transit, traffic, health services, safety alerts, and community news into millions of hands.

Incremental change is not an option any more in the construction industry. By redefining the ultimate frontier, leapfrogging innovations in construction will finally help address major societal challenges, from mass urbanization to climate change. The widespread adoption of game-changing innovations that consider a variety of possible futures is going to make a serious impact, socially, economically and environmentally.
This report examines what the industry could look like in the future and the strategic implications for the key stakeholders and broader society. The outlined transformation imperatives should help the industry prepare for a prosperous future.

In an age of transatlantic tensions over the Iran deal, trade balances, and steel tariffs, digital policy is uniquely poised to offer opportunities for greater US-EU cooperation. At the same time, the digital arena also has the potential to be a policy minefield, with issues such as privacy, digital taxation, and competition policy still unresolved. Making America First in the Digital Economy: The Case for Engaging Europe addresses these challenges and explores how the US-EU digital agenda fits in the larger transatlantic relationship.

The emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution offer unprecedented avenues to improve quality of life, advance society, and contribute to global economic growth. Yet along with greater prospects for human advancement and progress, advancements in these technologies have the potential to be dramatically disruptive, threatening existing assumptions around national security, rules for international cooperation, and a thriving global commerce. This report by the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) addresses emerging technologies in key areas of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and explores innovative ways by which the United States and the Republic of Korea can cooperate around advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics; biotechnology; and the Internet of Things.
Each chapter focuses on one of these scientific advancements, with two authors exploring the technology from the perspective of the United States and the Republic of Korea, respectively. Building off the work already underway in both countries, the authors of this report examine opportunities for continued growth and development in these key areas, offering concrete, distinct recommendations for increasing US-ROK cooperation around each technology as the world moves further into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This report considers the role that science and technology can play in understanding and providing solutions to the long-term issues affecting the sea. It outlines a number of recommendations to help the UK utilise its current expertise and technological strengths to foster trade links, build marine capacity across the world and collaborate to tackle climate change.

From Captain Cook, to Turner and the Royal Navy, the sea is embedded in our culture and history, but what will it mean for the UK to be successful maritime nation in the 21st century, and beyond? That is the key question that this report seeks to answer.
We anticipate many new opportunities for the UK to benefit economically from the sea, and to show leadership on the global stage. We are well placed to succeed. Including the British Overseas Territories, the UK has one of the largest marine spaces of any country in the world – a rich and diverse area that offers new opportunities for exploration, protection and economic activity. Many of the UK’s relevant technological and scientific capabilities are world leading. However business as usual is not an option if the UK wants to fully capitalise on these opportunities, and be a successful marine and maritime nation in the future.