Hi! I’m Harry Goldstein, IEEE Spectrum’s Editor in Chief. 

Every September, Spectrum’s editors seek out promising projects that could solve seemingly intractable problems or transform entire industries. Often these projects fly under the radar of the popular press, which these days seems more interested in the personalities driving Big Tech companies than in the technology itself. 

For example, Senior Associate Editor Emily Waltz traveled to Sardinia to check out a grid-scale energy storage scheme, which is poised to blow up—literally. Milan-based Energy Dome’s “bubble battery” can store up to 200 megawatt-hours by compressing and decompressing pure carbon dioxide inside an inflatable dome. The batteries will soon start popping up around the globe. 

Over the last two decades, Spectrum has regularly covered the deployment of drones in all sorts of new applications. In this issue, journalist Robb Mandelbaum takes us inside the Wildfire XPrize competition, aimed at providing a truly life-saving service: dousing wildfires before they grow out of control. 

In addition to these emerging technologies, we’ve packed this issue with a dozen others, including Porsche’s wireless home charger for EVs, the world’s first electric air taxi service, error-correcting quantum computers, and interoperable mesh networks. Stay tuned to see which of this year’s picks make it to the big leagues!