Seven sector-specific technology developments will disrupt the infrastructure asset class, according to a new paper from the global infrastructure team at QIC, a global diversified alternatives investment firm. In the paper titled Technology disruptions affecting infrastructure (Part 1), the seven sector-specific themes identified for businesses and investors to watch and act on are:

Technology to store and convert energy. Households, businesses and industries that have long been dependent energy consumers reliant on supply security from capital-intensive electricity networks and carbon fuelled generators are progressing toward an era when they can become energy storers and even energy providers. This transition is likely to undermine the traditional centralized generation model, accelerate the development of renewable energy and relieve networks from inefficient “peak”-based investments.

Solar energy’s time has arrived.