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Market Snapshot: Smart Cities

How smart is your city? While this may seem like a subjective question, it is now a question that may be answered on a global scale. Increasing urbanization has given rise to smart cities, which are cities that utilize Internet of Things (IOT) sensors and technology to connect components across a city to gather data and improve the lives of both citizens and visitors. Smart cities are designed and conceptualized to provide improved sustainability and livability by improving traffic and saving energy. Just in case you were curious to see how smart your city is, the IESE Cities in Motion Index provides a global ranking with London garnering the top spot in 2019, and New York City placing highest among U.S. cities.

 

On a global scale, MarketsandMarkets reports that the smart cities market is expected to grow from $308.0 billion in 2018 to $717.2 billion by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.4%. This growth is attributed to the increasing demand for public safety, rising urban population, and growing government initiatives. Within the smart cities market, smart transportation, which works to enhance existing and new transport infrastructural projects, is expected to be the largest market segment by market size. However, the smart citizen services segment it forecast to grow at the largest CAGR. From a regional perspective, North America held the highest share in the market in 2016, based on the growing adoption rate of smart technologies in the region. BCC Research reports that the North American smart city market should reach $419 billion by 2023 from $196.5 billion in 2018 at a CAGR of 16.3%. However, this domination is expected to be surpassed by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, due to increasing government initiatives. In APAC, China is expected to lead in the region, as the country is intensifying efforts to transform its 500 cities into smart cities, and has already begun smart city pilot projects.

 

Within the global smart cities market, the key and emerging market players include Cisco Systems (US), IBM (US), Siemens AG (Germany), Schneider Electric (France), Ericsson (Sweden), Vodafone (UK), Itron Inc. (US), Verizon (US), Telensa (England), ABB (Switzerland), Honeywell International Inc. (US), SAP SE (Germany), KAPSCH Group (Austria), and AGT International (Switzerland). Analysts report that these leading players have adopted organic and inorganic strategies, including product launches, acquisitions, business expansions, and partnerships, to expand their business reach and drive their business revenues. Moreover, various smart cities solution providers are utilizing venture capital funding, funding through Initial Coin Offering (ICO), new product launches, acquisitions, and partnerships and collaborations, to increase their presence in the global market.

 

Frost & Sullivan coverage of this market reports that the need for smarter solutions and energy-efficient living will drive and foster growth, and be measured on the level of intelligence and integration of infrastructure that connects the healthcare, energy, building, transportation, and governance sectors. Furthermore, Frost & Sullivan sees smart cities as a driving force in the development and adoption of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. For example, efficient and safe mobility is at the heart of any smart city, and several vehicle safety technologies such as Predictive Traffic Time, Automated Parking, Vehicle-to-Pedestrian Communication, Connected Traffic Light Information, and Virtual Cockpit have the potential to help smart cities and their inhabitants achieve safe, effective and affordable transport solutions.

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Eliza Gough

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Fusion Energy Overview

Fusion is a potential energy source and occurs when one or more lighter elements combine to form a heavier element, releasing energy in the process. [1] Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors. [2]   A future fusion plant could use the heat produced by the fusion reaction to produce steam to drive turbines or generators that produce electricity. [3] For almost a century, scientists around the globe have been looking to recreate and harness the power of fusion energy. [4]  

Tokamak
Source: ITER

There are two commonly pursued technologies to create and control plasma. Magnetic confinement uses strong magnets to contain plasma. A widely used configuration known as a tokamak[5] uses powerful magnets to confine the plasma within a toroidal reaction vessel, with the magnetic fields keeping the plasma away from the walls of the vessel to prevent damage and unintended cooling of the plasma.[6]  

Examples of U.S. companies developing magnetic confinement systems are Commonwealth Fusion Systems, TAE Technologies, Tokamak Energy, Helion Energy, and Thea Energy. Inertial confinement uses high-power lasers or electrical discharges to compress a small capsule of fusion fuel to extreme temperatures and pressures for a short time. This approach is used, for example, in the National Ignition Facility at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. [7] Examples of U.S. companies developing inertial confinement systems are Xcimer Energy, Focused Energy, ZAP Energy, and Shine Technologies. In addition to these methods, several companies such as General Fusion,  are pursuing various other pathways to try to create and control fusion reactions, including a hybrid of both magnetic and inertial confinement approaches. [8]

Various fusion fuels are used to power these pursued pathways. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, once developed, first-generation fusion plants may likely use a combination of abundant deuterium and lithium as fuel. [9] Deuterium, lithium and tritium Deuterium-tritium is a highly studied fusion fuel and a likely basis for the first fusion power plants.[10] Lithium is a critical resource for fusion because of its material properties. Lithium is used to breed tritium, the key fuel for fusion. [11] The rare lithium-6 form of the metal, which makes up only 7.5 per cent of all naturally occurring lithium, is the most efficient for sustaining the fusion process. [12] Li-6 is banned in the U.S. because of the harmful mercury waste it generates. [13] So most fusion power concepts rely on “enriched” lithium, where the Li-6 content has been boosted. [14]

Several companies are investing in efforts aimed at commercializing fusion energy. [15] Many of these companies are startups that have raised over $100 million in the past few years. [16]  The global fusion energy market size is projected to reach $611.8 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 5.56% from 2025 to 2034. [17] 

Current State - Projections of the time to putting Fusion Energy on the Grid

As of October 2025, fusion reactors remain pre-commercial, with no system yet producing net energy. Fusion energy stakeholders provide varying timelines as to when fusion energy will become technically feasible as an energy source for the electrical grid and when it will become commercially viable.  Projections range from 10 years to several decades in the future. [18]   Some companies are claiming that they will achieve commercial fusion energy in the next few years[19] while other stakeholders and experts said fusion energy will take more than 20 years. The Fusion Industry Association reported that many commercial companies predict fusion industry will be commercially viable in the 2030’s time frame. [19] 

Source: The Global Fusion Industry in 2025—Fusion Industry Association

Other stakeholders and experts believe fusion energy might put electricity on the grid in 10 to 20 years, however, significant resources are required to do so.[20] The Figure below illustrates commercialization risks that fusion energy will face on the road to commercial deployment. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the aspirational timeline as shown is strongly dependent on the level of both public and private investments. [21]

Commercialization risks for fusion

Source. U.S. Department of Energy, Fusion Energy Strategy 2024

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