JUNE 2021LIFE SCIENCES REVIEW8IN MY OPINIONbelieve there is a change on the horizon. As we head into a new decade, for the first time in history, Australia's next great resources boom will not be fuelled by extracting resources such as gold, coal, and iron ore. It will instead be driven by deep technologies.With the Asia pacific region right on our doorstep, which includes the fastest-growing middle class in the world, Australia is well poised to capitalise. And there are three factors that will drive this change.Firstly, the growing digitisation of the world's largest industries ­ infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, energy ­ is driving a growing need for deep technologies as the new inputs.Deep technologies are built on a foundation of substantial scientific breakthrough or high-tech engineering innovation. They cover areas such as advanced materials and manufacturing, AI, biotech, robotics, photonics, electronics, and quantum computing, which can all be applied in many formats across many unrelated industries.Secondly, global industries are increasingly facing pressure to transform so as to begin addressing ­ and stop contributing to ­ the world's most pressing concerns.Deep technologies are not your usual "apps and marketplaces" style of innovation. Instead, they are capable of radically transforming whole industries, or even creating entirely new ones.Where former resource booms have contributed to environmental degradation, increased carbon emissions, and even human rights violations such as modern slavery in the global supply chain, deep technologies can instead help to solve the world's biggest problems as defined within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These cover many different areas of concern, such as food security, water supply and sanitation, health, gender equality, and energy supply. But of note, SDG number thirteen, "Climate Action" is described as "the single biggest threat to development". The UN goes on to state that climate change's "widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable."Using the SDGs as a framework to address some of our world's most critical issues will become increasingly central to the long-term viability of all companies and industries, as driven both by increasing need and also societal pressure.Finally, these two "demand" factors will combine with a third "supply" factor. Australia produces an abundance of world-leading research and IP, and we know how to commercialise it.Studies suggesting we rank last in the OECD for research/business collaboration are based on survey I FOSSIL FUELS MUST BE REPLACED BY DEEP TECH AND BIG THINKING By Sally-Ann Williams, CEO of Australia's pioneer deep tech incubator, Cicada Innovations
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