1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI represents a kind of Swiss army knife for the future. Since it can apply narrowly to an increasing number of domains – proving especially useful in manufacturing – it has the potential to improve efficiency across every sector. In addition, automation of vehicles will improve road safety and automation of factories will drastically increase their output. It’s hard to imagine a technology that could be more transformational to our society than AI.

AI continues to assist us in our everyday tasks, and as a result, we now use them as a reliable source holding their own responsibilities. As we use smart algorithms every time we use our technology for internet, shopping, navigation, entertainment, scheduling and many more, 2023 will start introducing AIs as workers for our occupations. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has described AI as “more significant than fire or electricity” in terms of impacting human civilisation.

2. Metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg launched the Metaverse is August 2021 and is now expanding into an immersive digital world. Even though the initial reception is still mixed, the expansion of the Metaverse is expected to lead to a 3D virtually enhanced physical and digital reality (VR/AR), Gartner has predicted it will be used by 40% of organisations worldwide by 2027.

Industry experts have gone as far to say that sustainability could be one of the biggest benefits presented by the metaverse.

3. Augmented Reality (AR)

AR reflects an issue that Elon Musk has referred to as the ‘bandwidth issue’. The major obstacle between a human mind and the computational power of a computer is the interface. Specifically, how we receive and transfer data between our brains and the device or cloud. AR glasses will be an important first step in closing this gap as it will allow us to interact with data more directly and whilst we are on the move.

No doubt this will also have applications beyond commercial enterprises, for example as a learning aid in schools and hospitals.

4. 5G Technology

5G technology is fast emerging as the next evolution in global communications. As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more prevalent in the commercial landscape, the need for higher bandwidth, download speeds, and data transfer will rise to meet growing capacity.

5G and edge data centres have helped make data transfer more energy efficient, as data centres globally account more than 1% of the world’s energy consumption and the immense growth in data usage drives energy demand. Less energy is required for data transfer as there is less distance for it to travel over telecommunication networks.

5. Everything connected, everywhere

At home, we’ve seen the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to evolve, linking televisions, light bulbs and even the fridge! Although IoT isn’t necessarily a green technology, IoT connected devices such as thermostats can adjust temperatures based on outside temperatures automatically without human intervention.

Consumers will want this innovation reflected at work, and a great example is our latest solution G3, which can already link everything from energy data collection to BMS controls, giving you full end-to-end visibility and control over your buildings.

6. Electric Vehicle (EV) Improvements

EVs have enjoyed huge growth over the past few years but their lithium-ion batteries continue to be the most controversial aspect of the the most sustainable forms of transport. Although EV batteries will last longer than some buyers’ ownership of the vehicle, companies are looking into more sustainable recylcing methods for batteries. Currently, there are only a few places in the world, like China that offer a battery recycling service. With the potential for recycling an EV battery being more expensive and having more of an environmental impact than when it was manufactured, we expect to see more initiatives introduced that will help build more local recycling infrastructure and more widespread government policies to encourage more EV battery recycling from next year and beyond Luckily, t-mac is well poised to already help you start your EV journey and can help you get a head start with access to the installation of EV charging points and much more.

7. Energy Storage

With energy prices at unpresented levels this year, the need for alternative solutions such as storage could become more cost effective. Using energy storage along with IoT applications you could gather analytics on countless optimizations, including how much extra storage it should allocate for winter months for your organisation.