Australia

Australia ranks between 2nd and 39th across the 45 technologies, by share of the 10% most cited papers, 2021–2025. Best placings: critical minerals processing (3rd), hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel (2nd–3rd) and hydrogen by electrolysis (4th).

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CNChina USUnited States INIndia GBUnited Kingdom DEGermany KRSouth Korea AUAustralia

Australia's rank in each of the 45 technologies

TechnologyRankIts neighbours in the rankingShare of the top 10%, from 2021 to 2025Its institution with the most credit

Critical minerals processing

3^rdof 58

1stCN43.0%2ndUS13.8%3rdAU4.3%4–5CA2.9%4–5IN2.8%

Monash University0.8% of the top 10%

Hydrogen storage and ammonia fuel

2–3tied, of 68

1stCN44.5%2–3SA4.5%2–3AU4.5%4thUS4.2%5thIN4.1%

Edith Cowan University0.7% of the top 10%

Hydrogen by electrolysis

4^thof 83

1stCN53.0%2ndKR4.6%3rdUS4.4%4thAU3.9%5thDE3.7%6thIN2.5%

The University of Adelaide0.7% of the top 10%

Additive manufacturing

4^thof 90

1stCN34.0%2ndUS11.3%3rdIN6.7%4thAU3.9%5thGB3.6%6–7IT2.9%

RMIT University0.7% of the top 10%

Satellite navigation

5–6tied, of 45

1stCN56.1%3rdDE3.9%4thHK3.4%5–6AU2.2%5–6IT2.2%7thCA2.0%

Curtin University0.7% of the top 10%

Metamaterials

4–5tied, of 73

1stCN55.5%3rdKR4.0%4–5SG2.6%4–5AU2.6%6thIN2.5%7thHK2.0%

Australian National University0.6% of the top 10%

Genome sequencing

5^thof 59

1stUS33.6%3rdGB5.0%4thDE4.7%5thAU3.9%6thCH2.0%7–9KR1.6%

The University of Melbourne0.9% of the top 10%

Large language models

6^thof 96

1stCN27.4%4–5DE2.4%4–5KR2.4%6thAU2.3%7thIN2.2%8–9HK2.1%

Monash University0.3% of the top 10%

Atomic clocks

4–6tied, of 27

1stUS38.7%4–6GB4.7%4–6JP4.7%4–6AU4.2%7–8FR3.5%7–8AT2.9%

The University of Adelaide1.6% of the top 10%

Electric batteries

6^thof 89

1stCN68.0%4–5GB2.2%4–5DE2.2%6thAU1.9%7thCA1.7%8thHK1.5%

University of Wollongong0.4% of the top 10%

mRNA vaccines and therapeutics

6^thof 70

1stUS38.7%4–5CA3.4%4–5JP3.3%6thAU2.7%7thGB2.5%8thIL2.3%

Monash University0.6% of the top 10%

Hyperspectral imaging

6–7tied, of 54

1stCN71.4%4thES1.9%5thFR1.7%6–7AU1.4%6–7IT1.4%8–9DE1.1%

Griffith University0.3% of the top 10%

New antibiotics and antivirals

5–6tied, of 82

1stCN30.3%4thIT4.2%5–6BR2.8%5–6AU2.7%7thGB2.5%8–9DE2.3%

UNSW Sydney0.6% of the top 10%

Cybersecurity

6^thof 104

1stCN14.8%4thUS7.6%5thGB3.8%6thAU3.7%7–9CA2.8%7–9PK2.8%

Deakin University0.7% of the top 10%

Distributed ledgers

6^thof 103

1stCN20.6%4thGB4.8%5thSA4.3%6thAU3.7%7thIT2.7%8thKR2.6%

RMIT University0.5% of the top 10%

Advanced composites

6^thof 68

1stCN50.8%4thIN5.0%5thTR3.3%6thAU2.7%7–8IT2.3%7–8KR2.3%

The University of Sydney0.6% of the top 10%

Inertial navigation

7–10tied, of 40

1stCN64.0%5–6GB2.3%5–6DE2.2%7–10AU1.9%7–10FR1.8%7–10IL1.7%

RMIT University0.7% of the top 10%

Sonar and underwater acoustics

5–8tied, of 37

1stCN71.6%5–8CA1.6%5–8SA1.6%5–8AU1.6%5–8PL1.4%9–14JP1.1%

Edith Cowan University0.5% of the top 10%

Drones and swarming

8^thof 81

1stCN52.2%6–7IN2.1%6–7SA2.1%8thAU1.9%9–10HK1.8%9–10SG1.8%

UNSW Sydney0.6% of the top 10%

Advanced robotics

7–8tied, of 54

1stCN31.5%6thHK3.4%7–8KR3.2%7–8AU3.2%9thCH3.0%10thJP2.7%

UNSW Sydney0.9% of the top 10%

Quantum computing

8–9tied, of 71

1stUS34.9%7thCA3.3%8–9NL3.0%8–9AU2.9%10thIT2.8%11thFR2.4%

UNSW Sydney0.7% of the top 10%

Post-quantum cryptography

9^thof 59

1stCN20.4%7–8JP2.8%7–8DE2.6%9thAU2.5%10thES2.2%11–14IT1.7%

RMIT University0.6% of the top 10%

Quantum sensors

9–10tied, of 48

1stCN22.5%7–8NL3.0%7–8JP2.9%9–10AU2.4%9–10CH2.1%11–13AT1.5%

RMIT University0.5% of the top 10%

Radar

7–9tied, of 413.0 papers of credit

1stCN77.0%7–9IN0.6%7–9SG0.6%7–9AU0.5%10–15FI0.5%10–15CA0.4%

University of Technology Sydney0.3% of the top 10%

Synthetic biology

9–10tied, of 55

1stCN45.7%7thDK2.5%8thES1.5%9–10AU1.2%9–10CH1.1%11–14CA0.9%

The University of Queensland0.3% of the top 10%

Small satellites

8–14tied, of 473.1 papers of credit

1stUS13.7%8–14JP2.6%8–14DE2.5%8–14AU2.5%8–14NL2.5%8–14GB2.5%

University of Wollongong1.9% of the top 10%

Supercapacitors

9–11tied, of 86

1stCN46.3%8thEG1.4%9–11TW1.3%9–11AU1.3%9–11GB1.3%12thTR1.2%

University of Newcastle Australia0.3% of the top 10%

Perovskite solar cells

12^thof 76

1stCN53.9%10–11CH1.6%10–11JP1.6%12thAU1.5%13thPK1.0%14thIT0.9%

UNSW Sydney0.3% of the top 10%

Wide-bandgap semiconductors

12^thof 56

1stCN40.8%10thMY1.6%11thHK1.3%12thAU1.0%13–17SA0.9%13–17SE0.9%

RMIT University0.4% of the top 10%

6G and advanced wireless

12–13tied, of 80

1stCN39.9%9–10DE2.2%11thSE1.8%12–13AU1.7%12–13FR1.7%14–15IT1.4%

UNSW Sydney0.7% of the top 10%

Gene editing

13–14tied, of 77

1stUS32.2%8–11JP1.5%12thIT1.4%13–14AU1.1%13–14PK1.1%15thDK0.9%

Murdoch University0.2% of the top 10%

Directed energy

10–21tied, of 210.8 papers of credit

1stCN57.5%10–21IT1.0%10–21FR0.8%10–21AU0.8%10–21CZ0.6%10–21PK0.4%

The University of Adelaide0.4% of the top 10%

Advanced chip manufacturing

13–20tied, of 392.2 papers of credit

1stCN31.8%11–12NL0.8%13–20CA0.6%13–20AU0.6%13–20SG0.6%13–20GB0.5%

Macquarie University0.3% of the top 10%

Electronic warfare

4–19tied, of 230.6 papers of credit

1stCN81.0%4–19IN0.7%4–19AE0.5%4–19AU0.5%4–19HK0.4%4–19GB0.4%

UNSW Sydney0.2% of the top 10%

AI chips

14–15tied, of 46

1stCN46.2%11–13ES1.2%14–15FR1.2%14–15AU1.2%16thNL0.9%17–19CA0.7%

UNSW Sydney0.2% of the top 10%

Hypersonic flight

12–17tied, of 282.1 papers of credit

1stCN65.9%12–17IL0.6%12–17NZ0.6%12–17AU0.6%12–17BE0.5%18–24BR0.3%

The University of Queensland0.6% of the top 10%

Magnets and superconductors

17–20tied, of 583.8 papers of credit

1stCN35.0%12–16ES0.9%12–16TR0.9%17–20AU0.8%17–20CA0.8%17–20DK0.7%

The University of Sydney0.3% of the top 10%

Quantum communication

18–20tied, of 574.7 papers of credit

1stCN28.9%18–20CZ0.9%18–20PL0.9%18–20AU0.8%21stSE0.7%22–26BE0.5%

University of Technology Sydney0.1% of the top 10%

Optical communication

20–21tied, of 54

1stCN38.8%16–19DK0.9%16–19TR0.9%20–21AU0.8%20–21ES0.8%22–25PT0.7%

RMIT University0.3% of the top 10%

Advanced aircraft engines

20–39tied, of 471.0 papers of credit

1stCN64.6%13–19IT0.3%20–39FI0.3%20–39AU0.3%20–39RU0.3%20–39BE0.3%

UNSW Sydney0.2% of the top 10%

Nuclear fusion

23–30tied, of 501.0 papers of credit

1stUS27.5%23–30NO0.2%23–30CA0.1%23–30AU0.1%23–30IR0.1%23–30MY0.1%

University of Newcastle Australia0.1% of the top 10%

High-performance computing

22–35tied, of 451.2 papers of credit

1stUS36.3%22–35TW0.5%22–35FI0.5%22–35AU0.5%22–35HR0.4%22–35GR0.4%

The University of Melbourne0.4% of the top 10%

Nuclear fission power

26–31tied, of 641.8 papers of credit

1stCN43.3%26–31KZ0.3%26–31ES0.3%26–31AU0.2%26–31BR0.2%32–40PK0.2%

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation0.1% of the top 10%

Autonomous underwater vehicles

32–38tied, of 440.6 papers of credit

1stCN71.7%21–31PT0.2%32–38PK0.2%32–38AU0.2%32–38SA0.2%32–38FI0.1%

Outside the top 30

University of Newcastle Australia0.1% of the top 10%

Space launch

Not ranked

No credit in the top 10%.

Neighbours are the countries ranked just above and below. Ranks are shown as a range where shares are equal to one decimal place. Source: OpenAlex, pulled 23 October 2026. Download these numbers Method

Where Australia is in the top three

Pilot

Each paper sorted into one sub-area by an AI model reading its title and abstract, then credited as usual. On 200 hand-labelled papers it chose the same sub-area, or a defensible second, 92% of the time. Shown where the sub-area has at least 30 papers in the top 10% and the country at least five papers of credit.

2ndCompressed, liquid and underground storage, tanks and pipelinesHydrogen storage and ammonia fuel, 130 papers; behind China 14.1%13.6%
2ndAlternative antibacterials (nanomaterials, metals, phages)New antibiotics and antivirals, 45 papers; behind China 27.3%12.4%
2ndLong-read and nanopore sequencingGenome sequencing, 76 papers; behind United States 25.6%11.6%
2ndTitanium alloysAdditive manufacturing, 211 papers; behind China 49.2%9.2%
2ndSeawater electrolysisHydrogen by electrolysis, 112 papers; behind China 70.1%7.3%
3rdSpin and semiconductor qubitsQuantum computing, 128 papers; behind Netherlands 23.1% and United States 17.5%11.6%
3rdSpin defects in boron nitride, silicon carbide and other materialsQuantum sensors, 50 papers; behind United States 33.3% and China 16.7%11.2%
3rdZero trust, access control and security architectureCybersecurity, 83 papers; behind China 18.2% and United States 16.3%10.0%
3rdElectrochemical nitrogen reduction to ammoniaHydrogen storage and ammonia fuel, 68 papers; behind China 60.3% and Denmark 8.7%7.6%
3rdGenome assembly, short-read sequencing and bioinformaticsGenome sequencing, 75 papers; behind United States 25.4% and China 18.7%7.2%
3rdResonant and chiral nanophotonics (bound states in the continuum)Metamaterials, 212 papers; behind China 48.1% and United States 11.6%6.9%
3rdRecycling and thermoplastic compositesAdvanced composites, 144 papers; behind China 42.6% and United States 8.8%6.4%
3rdLattice structures, TPMS and design for additive manufacturingAdditive manufacturing, 460 papers; behind China 40.0% and United States 7.5%5.4%
3rdMechanical metamaterials (auxetic, lattice, origami)Metamaterials, 464 papers; behind China 52.6% and United States 11.8%4.6%
3rdConsensus, scalability, sharding and interoperabilityDistributed ledgers, 169 papers; behind China 38.4% and India 7.8%4.4%
3rdSecurity, privacy and safety (incl. LLMs for cybersecurity)Large language models, 191 papers; behind China 24.3% and United States 19.1%4.1%
3rdLithium extraction from brines and ores (incl. direct extraction)Critical minerals processing, 135 papers; behind China 61.3% and United States 15.1%3.9%
3rdTargeted delivery to organs and cellsmRNA vaccines and therapeutics, 157 papers; behind United States 51.7% and China 22.6%3.9%
3rdHydrogen-evolution catalystsHydrogen by electrolysis, 180 papers; behind China 67.1% and United States 4.2%3.3%
3rdSodium-ion and potassium-ion batteriesElectric batteries, 941 papers; behind China 79.8% and United States 4.0%2.8%