Four tech trends from 2025 that will shape the future – because they have to
Summary
Rupert Goodwins highlights four non-AI trends from 2025 that are set to quietly but decisively reshape technology, industry and regulation: structural battery composites, next-generation nuclear (Generation IV and small modular reactors), the European Accessibility Act, and the melding of Cyber Security Mesh Architecture with Zero Trust. Each trend reduces complexity or risk in its domain and forces industries to redesign products, infrastructure or processes.
Key Points
- Structural battery composites (SBCs) merge structure and energy storage, potentially removing large battery packs from EVs and devices.
- Next-generation nuclear combines Generation IV designs and small modular reactors (SMRs) to improve safety, economics and scalability of nuclear power.
- The European Accessibility Act (EAA) of 2025 makes accessible products and services mandatory across the EU, with inaccessible systems banned from 2030.
- Cyber Security Mesh Architecture (CSMA) and Zero Trust are converging into practical, standards-based approaches for intrinsic system security.
- These trends cut across manufacturing, energy policy, regulation and security — they aren’t optional niceties but structural changes that organisations must plan for.
Content Summary
Structural battery composites: SBCs let the same component provide mechanical strength and energy storage. That can shrink parts counts, simplify supply chains, reduce environmental impact and lessen dependence on concentrated lithium supplies. Lower energy density per unit can be acceptable because the whole structure contributes capacity.
Next-generation nuclear: Two developments are driving a renaissance — Generation IV reactors using novel coolants (helium, liquid metals, salts) for higher efficiency and lower pressure, and SMRs built from modular factory-produced components. Together they change nuclear economics, resilience and maintainability.
Accessibility law: The EAA forces designers and vendors to make digital and physical products equally accessible. The intention is to mainstream accessible design, reduce long-term costs and open markets and jobs to more people — though adoption will be uneven and contested at first.
Cyber Security Mesh + Zero Trust: CSMA recognises differing security needs across components and enables cross-tool communication about identity, behaviour and access. Zero Trust supplies the verification ethos. Combined, they offer a path from lofty concepts to implementable, auditable security that reduces attack surface and the damage from social-engineering and credential abuse.
Context and Relevance
While AI dominates headlines, these four trends matter because they change how products are built, energy is produced, law shapes markets and systems are defended. SBCs affect manufacturers and supply chains; next-gen nuclear matters to energy planners and decarbonisation goals; the EAA forces product and service redesign across the EU market; and CSMA + Zero Trust are central to securing increasingly distributed infrastructure. For CTOs, policymakers, product teams and security leads, these are strategic considerations for the next five to ten years.
Why should I read this?
Because everyone’s shouting about AI — but these four shifts will quietly remodel entire industries. Read this if you want the heads-up on tech that changes design, energy and regulation rather than just the hype cycle. It’s short, sharp and useful: we’ve done the skimming for you so you can plan rather than panic.
Source
Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/12/29/four_tech_trends_2025/