Success Stories

Mapping out policy priorities for a carbon-neutral EU

EU-funded researchers have mapped out possible pathways to achieve the drastic technological, economic and societal transformations needed for the EU to become carbon neutral by 2050, meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement and lead global efforts to tackle climate change.

Published: 11 May 2020

Cultivating innovative techniques for sustainable water use

An EU-funded project promoted the exchange, display and transfer of innovative fertigation technologies which combine fertilisation with irrigation. This approach will help farmers to use limited water resources more sustainably while reducing harmful nutrient losses to the environment.

Published: 1 April 2020

'Green' pesticides in the pipeline

As pressure grows to limit the use of conventional pesticides that may harm health and the environment, EU-funded researchers have brought eco-friendly alternatives a step closer to reality by turning insects' own hormones against them.

Published: 28 August 2019

A safe source of drinking water for rural Malawi

The EU-funded WATERSPOUTT project's partners in Malawi are designing and testing an innovative solar-ceramic water filtration system capable of providing local communities with a reliable source of clean water at the household level.

Published: 14 August 2019

Europe stands up to lead the solar-thermal electricity way

All-too-often it takes global disasters or looming events to bring countries together for a common cause. Climate change is perhaps the biggest 'event' of this kind, an existential threat driving international research cooperation in a new sustainable solution called solar-thermal electricity (STE). But it takes leadership to forge such a grand alliance of scientists, engineers, technicians and companies prepared to back progress in this field. Europe stood up when it was needed.

Published: 13 August 2019

Heart disease research offers new interpretation of the 'spice of life'

Spices have been used in food and traditional medicine for millennia. But a new interpretation of 'SPICES' is coming to mitigate cardiovascular risk factors in carefully selected sites in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Europe... the international research kind.

Published: 1 August 2019

Water consumption solution for efficient concentrated solar power

Deserts and other sun-drenched regions are the ideal location for concentrated solar power plants, but where sunlight is abundant water tends to be scarce. EU-funded researchers are solving this conundrum by developing technologies to comprehensively reduce water consumption, enabling CSP plants to play an even bigger role in addressing the world’s energy and climate change challenges.

Published: 28 June 2019

Advancing innovation on Africa farms

Agricultural innovation can increase the incomes and food security of rural Africans - the challenge is to ensure it achieves its potential impact faster. Evidence from an EU-funded project could help policymakers, donors, researchers and development practitioners better design and manage initiatives to improve smallholder agriculture.

Published: 28 May 2019

Smallholders' insights fuel Africa farm innovation

An EU-funded project designed and tested new soil and water management innovations to increase food production on African farms hand in hand with local farmers. It shows how involving smallholders in research could increase innovation uptake when there is a proper enabling framework.

Published: 27 May 2019

New materials remove emerging organic pollutants from water

Emerging pollutants are chemicals that are difficult to remove from effluents during waste-water treatment. An EU-funded project has developed novel materials for use in innovative integrated water treatments to remove these pollutants, leading to cleaner and safer water.

Published: 22 March 2019