Efforts to establish a robust hydrogen-based transport sector in Europe must be underpinned by an equally healthy manufacturing industry for essential hydrogen-powered vehicle components.
Hydrogen has the highest mass energy density of any fuel, making it an extremely effective medium for energy storage and distribution. As Europe deploys more renewable capacity, from vast wind farms to roof-top solar arrays, hydrogen is set to be an essential integrator, harnessing excess power generation, balancing intermittent supply and demand, and ultimately helping support a clean, efficient and sustainable energy system.
Trials in cities around the world have demonstrated that fuel-cell passenger buses can cut emissions and noise pollution while providing good quality public transport. New EU-funded projects could double Europe’s fleet of hydrogen buses – reducing vehicle and infrastructure costs per bus to boost take-up of the technology.
A clean revolution is quietly taking place on Europe’s roads. Hydrogen fuel cells are powering fleets of public buses and refuelling stations are being deployed. Building on the results of several pilot projects, uptake of the technology is accelerating rapidly, putting hydrogen fuel cells in a position to underpin zero-emissions transport Europe-wide.
Nuclear fusion could be the perfect solution to the world's energy problems - but first, we have to work out how to produce fusion power cost-effectively. Research is getting closer, and the advances it is delivering could also be useful in other areas. An EU-funded project has highlighted the potential of technology transfers to industry.
Remote diagnosis systems such as the one developed by the DRIVEN project can enhance responsiveness in emergency and disaster incidents, providing a significant time-advantage within that critical hour following an incident.
Imagine your favourite football team entering a stadium. An army of wireless cameras is following the players to give you the best possible view - of the whole pitch, of the chanting crowd, of each footballer, from the tip of his head to the grass blades he treads with his cleats. Thanks to Prof. Leif Oxenløwe's research, this kind of wireless ultra-high definition television broadcasting can one day become a reality.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Prevention relies on measuring traditional risk factors such as age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and smoking. However, many individuals, apparently at low-risk, still develop CVD. Improving predictions beyond the traditional risk factors is the challenge undertaken by Prof. Olle Melander with his EU funded research project - CARDIOPREVENT.
An EU-funded project has made it easier to develop an effective mix of interlocking policies that will help the EU meet its climate change and energy targets. The methodology includes applying real-world analysis and modelling to policy instruments.
'Connected driving' technologies will enable vehicles to connect and share information with one another, as well as with infrastructure and other parts of the transport network. Eventually this will facilitate decision-making, reducing the likelihood of collisions and helping improve traffic flow. But for this to happen, more accurate positioning information is needed - which is where the EU-funded HIGHTS project comes in.
EU-funded researchers are investigating novel non-GMO approaches to stepping up stress-resistance in crops. The research could lead to increased yields for farmers and improve Europe's food security.
Rigorous wind tunnel tests have shown that a new flexible deformable aircraft wing concept developed by EU-funded researchers can increase lift during take-off, achieve greater efficiencies in flight and reduce noise.
EU-funded research is helping to improve the relevance of future climate change scenarios by developing a way to account for aerosols - minute particles in the atmosphere - and their effect on global warming.
While on court, beach volleyball players need to act as a whole in order to prevent the ball from touching the sand: in a fraction of a second - just before the opponent's hand spikes the ball - the passer has to predict and adjust to the attacker's action as well as to their teammate's block position.
At the supermarket, do you always know where you parked your car? Can you remember what you came to buy, if you haven't written it down? And can you do so without having to rack your brain? If so, you're lucky. Most of us occasionally struggle, and will struggle even more as we get older. EU-funded research has analysed how age affects our memory.
ISOLDE, CERN's transformer of elements, is about to be itself transformed: a major upgrade is under way. A large share of the R&D underpinning this overhaul was conducted by young researchers who contributed as part of the EU-funded CATHI project. This training network enabled 21 applicants to gain hands-on experience in their chosen field.
New materials can make aircraft greener and quieter. But how would these planes behave in an emergency water landing? An EU-funded project's experiments and computer simulation tools are contributing to better understanding of the complicated phenomena involved in developing even safer and more cost-effective designs.
A fast, accurate and easy-to-use test for detecting high explosives, toxic chemicals and other small molecules is providing security services with a potentially life-saving tool in the fight against terrorism. Developed by EU-funded researchers, the innovative detection system has undergone successful field trials and is ready for widespread deployment.
What is the lifespan of a sun-like star? Well, it may not be quite what we thought. The outcomes of EU-funded asteroseismology research conducted by Professor Conny Aerts and her team show that the cores of red giants don't spin nearly as fast as expected - and this, in turn, means that our understanding of the future of our sun was flawed.
European researchers have designed brain-like artificial neural networks capable of numerical and spatial cognition and written language processing without any explicit training or pre-programming. Their work, based on the machine-learning approach of generative models, significantly advances the development of self-learning artificial intelligence, while also deepening understanding of human cognition.
