167 technologies

Technologies

Every technology has a historical year. Researching ahead costs more; falling behind lets you catch up more cheaply through diffusion. From 2027 all technologies are speculative – design decisions, not predictions.

Industry 16 technologies

  1. 2003Hybrid Drivetrain

    Vehicle plants can build hybrid vehicles with higher output.

  2. 2004Composite Materials

    Chemical plants produce more plastics; required for stealth fighters and 3D printing.

  3. 2005Cement Co-processing

    Cement plants replace most of their coal with alternative fuels.

  4. 2008Mining Automation

    Iron and copper mines extract much more with fewer workers.

  5. 2012Electric Vehicles

    Vehicle plants build battery-electric cars instead of combustion models.

  6. 2013Additive Manufacturing

    Machinery plants print parts and raise their output considerably.

  7. 2015Industry 4.0

    Connected production for steel, chemicals, machinery, electronics and textiles.

  8. 2016Collaborative Robots

    Consumer goods factories produce more with fewer workers using cobots.

  9. 2017Battery Gigafactories

    Battery factories mass-produce more cells per level.

  10. 2018Digital Twins

    Simulated plants raise machinery (+5%) and chemical plant (+3%) output.

  11. 2030Hydrogen Direct Reductionspeculative

    Steel mills can make steel with hydrogen instead of coal.

  12. 2031Inert Anode Aluminiumspeculative

    Aluminium smelters need less power and produce more.

  13. 2033Autonomous Vehiclesspeculative

    Vehicle plants build autonomous vehicles with the highest output.

  14. 2034Humanoid Robotsspeculative

    Consumer goods factories produce far more with few workers using general-purpose robots.

  15. 2035Circular Materialsspeculative

    Aluminium smelters process scrap with a fraction of the bauxite and power.

  16. 2046Lights-Out Factoriesspeculative

    Fully automated production raises all goods production by 2%.

Energy 24 technologies

  1. 2004Deepwater Drilling

    Oil fields can produce more crude with deepwater technology.

  2. 2004Multi-Megawatt Wind Turbines

    Onshore wind parks deliver a quarter more power per level.

  3. 2005Biofuels

    Refineries can blend in crops and use less crude oil.

  4. 2006Generation III Reactors

    Nuclear plants generate more power with less uranium.

  5. 2006LNG Shipping

    Ports can operate as LNG terminals with higher output.

  6. 2006Ultra-Supercritical Coal

    Coal power plants need a sixth less coal per unit of power.

  7. 2008Hydraulic Fracturing

    Oil and gas fields can produce much more through fracking.

  8. 2010Cheap Photovoltaics

    Renewable parks can run as solar farms with more power.

  9. 2010Lithium-Ion Mass Production

    Allows battery factories and lithium mines.

  10. 2012Offshore Wind

    Renewable parks can run as offshore wind farms with more power.

  11. 2014Smart Grids

    Digital grid control raises renewable park output by 5%.

  12. 2015HVDC Transmission

    Remote hydro and wind become more usable (+5% hydro, +3% renewables).

  13. 2018Battery Storage

    Renewable parks with storage deliver much more usable power.

  14. 2019Floating LNG

    Gas fields produce more gas with floating liquefaction plants.

  15. 2020High-Efficiency Solar

    Solar farms deliver more power with PERC and bifacial modules.

  16. 2028Green Hydrogenspeculative

    Allows electrolysers and ammonia from hydrogen instead of natural gas.

  17. 2029Sodium-Ion Batteriesspeculative

    Battery factories can make cells without any lithium.

  18. 2030Floating Offshore Windspeculative

    Renewable parks reach deep waters and deliver more power.

  19. 2030Solid-State Batteriesspeculative

    Battery factories produce more cells with less lithium.

  20. 2031Perovskite Tandem Solarspeculative

    Solar farms deliver the highest yield with tandem cells.

  21. 2032Small Modular Reactorsspeculative

    Nuclear plants generate more power with fewer workers using modular reactors.

  22. 2034Enhanced Geothermalspeculative

    Allows geothermal plants that deliver baseload power without fuel.

  23. 2045Experimental Fusionspeculative

    Experimental reactors speed up research by 3%; required for fusion power plants.

  24. 2050Fusion Demonstration Plantspeculative

    Allows fusion power plants with very high power output.

Electronics and AI 21 technologies

  1. 2002Broadband Internet

    Unlocks digital services and speeds up research by 3%.

  2. 2004Mobile Broadband (3G)

    Mobile data raises the output of service centres by 3%.

  3. 2005Flat-Panel Displays

    Electronics factories can build flat-panel devices with higher output.

  4. 2006Immersion Lithography

    Semiconductor fabs reach finer nodes and more output per level.

  5. 2007GPU Computing

    Parallel computing on graphics chips speeds up research by 2%.

  6. 2007Smartphones and Cloud

    Unlocks smartphone production, the platform economy and e-commerce.

  7. 2011FinFET Process Node

    Semiconductor fabs make modern chips with much higher output.

  8. 2011LTE Mobile Networks (4G)

    Fast mobile internet raises service productivity growth.

  9. 2012Hyperscale Data Centres

    Allows data centres that produce services with lots of power and few workers.

  10. 2013Deep Learning

    Deep neural networks speed up research by 3%.

  11. 2015Internet of Things

    Connected sensors raise all goods production by 0.5%.

  12. 2016AI Accelerators

    Semiconductor fabs can make AI chips with higher output.

  13. 2019EUV Lithography

    Semiconductor fabs reach leading-edge nodes with high output.

  14. 20205G Mobile Networks

    Raises service productivity growth and military coordination.

  15. 2022Large Language Models

    Data centres offer AI services; research becomes 5% faster.

  16. 2025Gate-All-Around Transistors

    Semiconductor fabs reach the 2 nm class with the highest output.

  17. 2030AI Agents in Industry and Administrationspeculative

    Unlocks AI-run electronics production and AI-driven services.

  18. 20326G Mobile Networksspeculative

    Raises service productivity growth and military coordination.

  19. 2040General AI Assistancespeculative

    General AI assistants speed up research by 10%.

  20. 2045Quantum Computing Applicationsspeculative

    Speeds up research by 5% and chemical plants by 3% (molecular simulation).

  21. 2048Autonomous AI Researchspeculative

    Self-directed research AI speeds up research by 10%.

Infrastructure 12 technologies

  1. 2005RFID and Telematics Logistics

    Transport hubs track shipments electronically and deliver more.

  2. 2006Ultra-Large Container Ships

    Ports handle more cargo with fewer workers thanks to ultra-large ships.

  3. 2008Automated Container Terminals

    Ports operate with a fraction of the staff.

  4. 2008High-Speed Rail Expansion

    Transport hubs shift traffic to electric high-speed rail and save fuel.

  5. 2014Digital Logistics

    Transport hubs deliver more with fewer workers through digital control.

  6. 2017Arctic Shipping

    Ice-class ships raise port output by 5%.

  7. 2018Smart Cities

    Connected infrastructure raises stability and transport hub output.

  8. 2032Climate Adaptation Infrastructurespeculative

    Dykes and water management raise stability and harvests.

  9. 2034Autonomous Freightspeculative

    Transport hubs deliver the most with autonomous trucks and trains.

  10. 2038Arctic Corridorspeculative

    Year-round Arctic routes raise port output by 10%.

  11. 2040Supergridspeculative

    A continental grid raises power generation (+3%) and renewables (+5%).

  12. 2047Superconducting Gridsspeculative

    Low-loss transmission raises power generation by 5%.

Agriculture 12 technologies

  1. 2003Genetically Modified Crops

    Farms get higher yields with less fertiliser from resistant varieties.

  2. 2005Industrial Aquaculture

    Allows coastal fish farms as an additional food source.

  3. 2005Precision Agriculture

    Satellite-guided farms produce more food with fewer workers.

  4. 2012Drought-Resistant Crops

    Farms get higher yields even in droughts.

  5. 2015Recirculating Aquaculture

    Fish farms run closed loops with higher yields.

  6. 2016Agricultural Drones

    Field-monitoring drones raise farm output by 3%.

  7. 2019Gene-Edited Crops

    Farms achieve the highest yields of the epoch with gene-edited varieties.

  8. 2030Vertical Farmingspeculative

    Farms can grow under artificial light with lots of power and little land.

  9. 2032Autonomous Farm Machineryspeculative

    Farms become highly productive with few workers using field robots.

  10. 2033Precision Fermentationspeculative

    Proteins from fermentation raise food production by 4%.

  11. 2036Solar Desalination and Irrigationspeculative

    Irrigating dry land raises farm output and stability.

  12. 2048Synthetic Biology Foundriesspeculative

    Programmed microbes raise food and chemicals by 3% each.

Medicine 14 technologies

  1. 2003Genomics

    Genome data raises the output of pharmaceutical plants by 5%.

  2. 2005Biologics

    Pharmaceutical plants can make high-value biologics.

  3. 2008Electronic Health Records

    Better health care slightly raises stability.

  4. 2010Next-Generation Sequencing

    Cheap genome analysis raises pharmaceutical plant output by 3%.

  5. 2016Gene Editing (CRISPR)

    A new lab tool speeds up research by 1%; required for gene therapies and new crops.

  6. 2020mRNA Platform

    Pharmaceutical plants can make mRNA drugs with higher output.

  7. 2020Telemedicine

    Remote medical care slightly raises stability.

  8. 2021AI Protein Structure Prediction

    Speeds up research by 2% and raises pharmaceutical plant output by 3%.

  9. 2024Gene Therapy

    Pharmaceutical plants can make high-value gene therapies.

  10. 2028AI Diagnosticsspeculative

    Slightly raises stability and pharmaceutical plant output by 3%.

  11. 2030Personalised Medicinespeculative

    Pharmaceutical plants make tailored high-value therapies.

  12. 2035Universal Vaccinesspeculative

    Broadly protective vaccines raise stability by 2 points.

  13. 2042Longevity Therapeuticsspeculative

    Healthier ageing raises stability and pharmaceutical production.

  14. 2048Regenerative Medicinespeculative

    Replacement tissue and organs raise stability by 2 points.

Administration 9 technologies

  1. 2005E-Government

    Online public services raise tax efficiency by 2 points.

  2. 2006Biometric Passports

    Secure identity documents slightly raise stability.

  3. 2011National Cyber Defence

    Protecting critical networks slightly raises stability and military coordination.

  4. 2012Digital Identity

    Electronic IDs raise tax efficiency by 2 points.

  5. 2016Big-Data Administration

    Data analysis raises tax efficiency by 2 points and slightly raises stability.

  6. 2019E-Invoicing

    Mandatory e-invoices close tax gaps: +3 points tax efficiency.

  7. 2030Post-Quantum Cryptographyspeculative

    Quantum-safe networks raise stability and military coordination.

  8. 2031AI Public Administrationspeculative

    AI agents in government: +3 points tax efficiency and more stability.

  9. 2047AI Governancespeculative

    Raises stability and tax efficiency by 2 points each.

Finance 10 technologies

  1. 2001Online Banking

    Digital banking raises the output of service centres by 2%.

  2. 2003Electronic Trading

    Fully electronic markets raise the output of service centres by 2%.

  3. 2004Structured Finance

    Securitisation slightly boosts the service sector (+0.5%).

  4. 2006Microfinance

    Small loans for households and micro-businesses slightly raise stability.

  5. 2011Macroprudential Regulation

    Stricter bank supervision raises stability by 2 points.

  6. 2012Mobile Payments

    Digital payments improve tax collection and service centre output.

  7. 2015Green Finance

    Cheap capital for renewables raises their output by 5%.

  8. 2016Fintech Platforms

    Digital financial services slightly boost the service sector (+0.5%).

  9. 2029Central Bank Digital Currencyspeculative

    Digital cash raises tax efficiency by 2 points.

  10. 2034AI Risk Managementspeculative

    AI-supported financial supervision raises stability and boosts services.

Space 11 technologies

  1. 2000Precise Satellite Navigation

    Metre-level navigation raises the output of transport hubs by 3%.

  2. 2001Commercial Earth Observation

    High-resolution satellite imagery improves military coordination.

  3. 2014Small Satellite Constellations

    Daily satellite imagery improves military coordination.

  4. 2016Multi-GNSS Navigation

    Centimetre-level navigation raises farm output by 2%.

  5. 2017Reusable Rockets

    Space centres launch much more cheaply with reusable rockets.

  6. 2021Satellite Megaconstellations

    Satellite internet raises service growth and military coordination.

  7. 2029Crewed Lunar Landersspeculative

    A lunar programme speeds up research by 2%.

  8. 2038Orbital Manufacturingspeculative

    Crystals grown in microgravity raise semiconductor fab output by 5%.

  9. 2042Lunar Outpostspeculative

    A permanent lunar station speeds up research by 3%.

  10. 2049Quantum Internetspeculative

    Tap-proof communication improves coordination and service growth.

  11. 2050Asteroid Prospectingspeculative

    New sources raise rare earth extraction by 10%.

Land Forces 17 technologies

  1. 2002Thermal Imaging Sights

    Armour fights at night too: +5% attack.

  2. 2003Network-Centric Warfare

    Unlocks networked weapon systems and improves coordination by 5%.

  3. 2004Modern Infantry Equipment

    Body armour and night vision: +10% infantry defence.

  4. 2005Precision-Guided Artillery

    Munitions plants can make precision munitions with higher output.

  5. 2006Counter-Insurgency Doctrine

    Infantry attacks more effectively (+5%) and coordination improves slightly.

  6. 2007MRAP Protection

    Mechanised infantry gains +10% defence.

  7. 2012Active Protection Systems

    Armoured units gain +15% defence.

  8. 2014Battlefield Management Systems

    Digital command systems improve coordination by 3%.

  9. 2015Loitering Munition

    Allows raising drone battalions.

  10. 2022Counter-Drone Systems

    Air defence gains +10% and all units +3% defence.

  11. 2025Drone Swarms

    Drone battalions gain +20% attack.

  12. 2025Unmanned Turret

    Armoured units gain +10% attack.

  13. 2030Directed-Energy Air Defencespeculative

    Laser weapons give air defence units +15% defence.

  14. 2032Robotic Combat Vehiclesspeculative

    Allows robotic brigades and robotic arms production.

  15. 2035AI Battle Commandspeculative

    AI situational awareness improves coordination by 5%.

  16. 2038Hybrid-Drive Armourspeculative

    Armoured units gain +5% attack and defence.

  17. 2050Autonomous Formationsspeculative

    Allows autonomous brigades with high combat power and few personnel.

Air Forces 13 technologies

  1. 2001Precision Air Munitions

    Fighter wings hit more accurately: +10% attack.

  2. 2002Armed Drones

    Allows raising armed drone squadrons.

  3. 2005Fifth-Generation Fighters

    Fighter wings gain +15% attack and +10% defence.

  4. 2006AESA Radar

    Better sensors for fighter wings (+5% attack) and air defence (+5% defence).

  5. 2007Long-Range Air Defence

    Air defence units gain +15% defence.

  6. 2015Fifth-Generation Multirole Fighters

    Sensor fusion: +10% fighter wing attack and better coordination.

  7. 2016Tactical Armed Drones

    Armed drone squadrons gain +20% attack.

  8. 2017Layered Air Defence

    Air defence gains +10% and all units +2% defence.

  9. 2020Hypersonic Strike Weapons

    Hard-to-intercept missiles: +4% attack for all units.

  10. 2030Loyal Wingmanspeculative

    Allows squadrons of uncrewed wingman aircraft.

  11. 2040Sixth-Generation Fightersspeculative

    Fighter wings gain +20% attack and +10% defence.

  12. 2045Hypersonic Missile Defencespeculative

    Air defence units gain +15% defence.

  13. 2049Swarm Air Combatspeculative

    Armed drones (+20%) and loyal wingman squadrons (+10%) attack harder.

Naval Forces 8 technologies

  1. 2005Air-Independent Submarines

    Submarines guard the coast: +10% defence for coastal missile batteries.

  2. 2006Amphibious Assault Ships

    Marine brigades gain +10% attack.

  3. 2011Sea-Based Missile Defence

    Air defence and coastal batteries gain +5% defence each.

  4. 2014Maritime Domain Awareness

    Satellite and ship data improve coordination.

  5. 2018Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles

    Coastal missile batteries gain +10% attack.

  6. 2023Naval Drones

    Coastal missile batteries (+15%) and marines (+5%) attack more effectively.

  7. 2032Unmanned Naval Fleetsspeculative

    Marines attack harder (+10%) and coastal batteries defend better (+10%).

  8. 2050Autonomous Naval Task Forcesspeculative

    Coastal batteries and marines gain +10% attack each.

Data from the current build (content.json). Cost in research points; in the game more expensive when researching ahead, cheaper when behind.