Imperial showcases science and technology leadership at Davos

Imperial College London was invited to showcase how science can help solve the world’s most urgent challenges at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

As a convening partner for the inaugural Frontiers Science House, Imperial hosted a series of high‑profile events featuring experts in AI, sustainability, healthcare, engineering and cleantech, alongside international leaders from government, industry and philanthropy. 

Frontiers Science House at Davos is a new global platform where Nobel laureates, pioneering researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and investors converge to translate scientific discovery into lasting impact.   

Led by President Professor Hugh Brady, the Imperial team of experts came together with leaders from across the globe to discuss how science and technology can tackle global risks through the right partnerships and knowledge-sharing frameworks.  

Across the five days, Imperial’s world-class researchers showcased their breakthrough work on structural batteries, AI in healthcare, and zero-emission mobility, demonstrating how Imperial is solving real-world challenges from energy storage to net-zero transport.  

Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, said: “Frontiers Science House is a powerful platform for meaningful dialogue, harnessing the transformative power of science, technology and innovation to address shared global challenges. I am proud that Imperial is playing a pivotal role in bringing science to Davos and helping to deliver the solutions that the world needs." 

All roads lead to AI 

Imperial headlined the Frontiers Science House programme with a plenary event - Convergence: All Roads Lead to AI - bringing together pioneering biotech company leaders working across synthetic biology, lab automation, and emerging technologies to explore the transformative potential of AI-driven scientific innovation. Following welcome remarks by Imperial's President, Professor Hugh Brady, Amanda Wolthuizen, Imperial's Vice-President Strategic Engagement, chaired a panel featuring Noubar Afeyan, CEO & Founder of Flagship Pioneering, Jason Kelly, CEO & Co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks, and Matt James, Executive Director of Colossal Foundation.

The panel examined how AI is making science more efficient and responsibly addressing global challenges. The discussion spanned an array of topics including flexible autonomous labs that enable experimental science at scale, how lab automation will revolutionise industry by making protein structures and knowledge tools more accessible, the promise of early detection in nature using AI-powered diagnostics with geo-satellites for ecological monitoring, and the broader convergence between AI and biotechnology to accelerate access to science - from detecting biological viruses earlier and identifying disease carriers to mapping complexity across nature and wildlife. 

Across the week, Imperial experts contributed to high‑level discussions on clean energy, structural materials, future mobility, healthcare and responsible AI. 

• Open Science for global challenges: Professor Hugh Brady joined global leaders to discuss how open science can support rapid innovation and improve geopolitical decision‑making. 
• Professor Aldo Faisal, an international authority on AI and neuroscience and co‑director of Imperial’s School of Convergence Science, was part of a discussion on AI for modern healthcare. 
• Professor Emile Greenhalgh, a world-leading engineer developing multifunctional structural materials that integrate energy storage, joined a discussion on structural batteries. 
• Professor Greg Offer presented the Vehicle Futures Hub at Imperial, which takes a systems engineering approach to sustainable transport by bringing together expertise across battery technology, energy storage, electrification of vehicles, and future propulsion systems for land, sea and air travel.
• Dr Nuria Tapia‑Ruiz presented cutting-edge work on sodium-ion batteries, which have the potential to be a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries for applications including stationary energy storage and electric mobility, particularly where lifetime operational cost is more important than energy density.
• Professor Rafael Palacios showcased the Brahmal Vasudevan Institute for Sustainable Aviation and work on achieving net-zero aviation through novel aircraft designs (such as ultra-long flexible wings and folding wing configurations), computational aeroelasticity for improved fuel efficiency, sustainable aviation fuels, and understanding the full environmental impact of aviation including non-CO2 emissions. 

Imperial's Trusted AI Alliance also hosted two events led by Professor Aldo Faisal and Professor David Shrier on AI in health and energy, creating space for dialogue on sovereign AI ecosystems and AI and energy. The Alliance brings together researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers to develop trustworthy AI frameworks that balance innovation with ethical governance and societal benefit.