2020s in science and technology

This article is a summary of the 2020s in science and technology.

Biology and medicine

See also: Timeline of biotechnology § 2020s

• DeepMind used artificial intelligence for the first time to predict protein folding. ^[1]
• Singapore became the first jurisdiction to approve the sale of cultured meat. ^[2]
• The vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna against Coronavirus disease 2019 became the first vaccines developed using messenger RNA ^[3] and mark the fastest vaccine development and approval, taking only 10 months. ^[4]
• Oregon became the first jurisdiction to legalize the medicinal use of psilocybin for mental health treatment. ^[5]

Energy

See also: Timeline of solar cells § 2020

• QuantumScape revealed that it had created the first functioning prototype of a solid-state battery, promising to massively increase battery capacity. ^[6]
• The Chinese Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak was turned on for the first time. ^[7] The China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor is being planned for commissioning later in the decade.
• Group14 Technologies has patented SCC55, a silicon-carbon composite, leading to 50% more in fully lithiated volumetric energy density than graphite used in conventional lithium-ion battery anodes. ^{[8] [9]}

Environmental sciences

Further information: 2025 in the environment and environmental sciences

Further information: Meteorology in the 21st century

• The United Nations has designated the 2020s as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. ^[10]

Space

Main article: 2020s in spaceflight

Transport

Air

• In 2021, United Airlines revealed plans to purchase 15 supersonic Boom Overture aircraft by the end of the decade. ^[11]

Land

• Waymo became the first company to offer self-driving car services to the general public without a human supervisor in Chandler, Arizona. ^[12]
• Autonomous delivery vehicles began transporting food to customers in Texas in 2021. ^[13]

Computing and artificial intelligence

Main article: Timeline of computing 2020–present

See also: AI Spring

• Artificial intelligence-assisted coding began to emerge in the early 2020s. ^[14]
• El Salvador passed Bitcoin law to become the first country to give cryptocurrency and bitcoin the status of legal tender.

Robotics and machine learning

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2020s in robotics (3 C) 2020s robots (2 C, 1 P) 2020 in robotics (1 C, 1 P) 2021 in robotics (1 C, 1 P)

Physics

• In January 2020, Physicists discovered a unique metal with billions of quantum entangled electrons. ^[15]
• The Large Hadron Collider will once again begin operation in early 2021; ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]} the collider was shut down in December 2018 "to enable major upgrade and renovation works." ^[16]

Paleontology

Further information: 2025 in paleontology

To display all pages, subcategories and images click on the "►":
2020s in paleontology (6 C) 2020 in paleontology (1 C, 10 P) 2021 in paleontology (1 C, 11 P) 2022 in paleontology (1 C, 11 P) 2023 in paleontology (1 C, 9 P) 2024 in paleontology (1 C, 10 P) 2025 in paleontology (1 C, 9 P)

Archaeology

Further information: 2025 in archaeology

To display all pages, subcategories and images click on the "►":
2020s archaeological discoveries (6 C) 2020 archaeological discoveries (10 P) 2021 archaeological discoveries (10 P) 2022 archaeological discoveries (11 P) 2023 archaeological discoveries (10 P) 2024 archaeological discoveries (11 P) 2025 archaeological discoveries (1 P)

See also

• Science portal
• Technology portal

• 2020s#Science and technology
• History of science and technology
• List of science and technology articles by continent
• List of years in science
  • 2025 in science
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on science and technology
• History of technology by type
• List of science timelines

References

1. "DeepMind AI cracks 50-year-old problem of protein folding". the Guardian. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
2. "No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time". the Guardian. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
3. "Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showing potential success of mRNA platform – a first". Boston Herald. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
4. "Pfizer COVID Shot Is Fastest Ever Vaccine to Be Approved in the West, First Licensed mRNA Jab in History". 2 December 2020.
5. Feuer, Will (4 November 2020). "Oregon becomes first state to legalize magic mushrooms as more states ease drug laws in 'psychedelic renaissance'". CNBC. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
6. "Did QuantumScape Just Solve a 40-Year-Old Battery Problem?". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 9 December 2020.
7. "China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun' for first time" . The Independent. 7 December 2020. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
8. Root, Al (19 October 2020). "Another Way Tesla Can Reduce Battery Costs".
9. "SCC55".
10. "United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030)". UNESCO. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
11. "United plans supersonic passenger flights by 2029". BBC News. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
12. Lee, Timothy B. (8 October 2020). "Waymo finally launches an actual public, driverless taxi service". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
13. Wood, Charlie (10 July 2021). "The future of self-driving? Maybe less like Elon Musk and more like Domino's pizza robots". CNBC. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
14. "AI is transforming the coding of computer programs". The Economist. 7 July 2021. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 11 July 2021.
15. "Billions of quantum entangled electrons found in 'strange metal'". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
16. CERN. "LHC prepares for new achievements" . Retrieved 10 September 2019.
17. Hays, Brooks. "CERN reveals plans for new experiment to search for dark matter particles". United Press International . Retrieved 10 September 2019.
18. Tech2 News Staff (3 September 2019). "Cern's Large Hadron Collider Gets Major Upgrade, Experiments Resumed in 2021". Tech2. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
19. Wetzel, James (26 August 2019). "USCMS completes phase 1 upgrade program for CMS detector at CERN". Fermilab. Retrieved 10 September 2019.