R&D Spending Expected to Increase in 2010

Spending on R&D globally is expected to increase by 4.0 percent to $1.156 billion according to the 2010 Battelle-R&D Magazine Forecast which was released this week. 

Although the increase will mostly be fueled by continued spending by China and India, R&D spending in the US is expected to increase 3.3 percent to $401.9 billion.  Europe is predicted to increase spending by only 0.5 percent, to $268.5 billion in 2010.

The report forecasts that energy, climate change, and healthcare are expected to be the top technology drivers of US R&D efforts in the future.  This includes: 

• Energy/Environmental:  Significant investments in R&D put the US in the lead on technologies involving carbon sequestration, smart grid, and clean coal/zero emission technologies—positions that are expected to hold during the next five years.
• Health and Biosciences:  This area continues to be a high priority for current US leadership in almost all categories, including targeted/nanotech drug delivery, medical biotechnology, and automated diagnostics/surgical methods.  One area worth watching, because of US policy changes, is stem cell development and related technologies.
• Defense and Security: The US is expected to continue leadership positions over the next five years in Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), stealth technologies, and chem/bio sensors.

The full report is available online here.

See the release with summary details from Battelle.