A road-embedded recharger developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology was named one of the 10 most promising technologies of the year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. KAIST's wireless power supply strips are embedded in roadbeds to transfer energy to battery-powered electric vehicles running above.

"Recharging regular electric cars is inconvenient, but our device can recharge cars while they are running. The size of the battery has been reduced to one-third of the original, so it has an edge in terms of commercial potential," the developer said.

Other technologies on the list included 3-D printing and remote manufacturing; self-healing materials; energy-efficient water purification; carbon dioxide conversion and use; enhanced nutrition to drive health at the molecular level; remote sensing; precise drug delivery through nanoscale engineering; organic electronics and photovoltaics; and fourth-generation reactors and nuclear-waste recycling.