Achievements

Recent earthquakes in Europe and surroundings areas have led to enhanced efforts to improve the ability of buildings to withstand temblors. Among these efforts is the EU-funded SHARE project (Seismic Hazard Assessment in Europe). This landmark project worked to ensure that earthquake risks are more expertly factored in when buildings are constructed. It is expected that this risk-prevention innovation will reduce the number of buildings damaged or destroyed when earthquakes hit.

Thanks to the PARTERRE project citizens can now influence urban & environmental planning of their community more easily. During several years PARTERRE has demonstrated and validated its business potential. New e-participation methods and tools for spatial and strategic planning at the European level are now more reachable.

Castles and cathedrals, statues and spires … Europe’s built environment would not be the same without these witnesses of centuries past. But, eventually, even the hardest stone will crumble. EU-funded researchers have developed innovative nano-materials to improve the preservation of our architectural heritage.

PASODOBLE project has developed a European-wide system, called “Myair”, to deliver essential air quality data to environmental officials, doctors and hospitals, as well as to the public at large.

Farmers around the world are united in their loathing of fruit flies. A new warning system developed by an EU-funded project to alert them of imminent infestation could save struggling farmers both time and money – and cut down on pesticide use. Two companies are preparing to commercialise the results.

We have all experienced the disappointment. Opening a box of expensive praline chocolates with pleasurable anticipation - only to discover that they appear to have gone off, even though it is well before their 'use-by' date.

A new road surface cuts tyre noise to one-tenth of that produced on today’s asphalt. EU-funded researchers have now moved tests from the lab to Europe’s roads, with the aim of providing a quieter, less stressful life for those living next to lots of traffic.

eEnviPer is an integrated web-based platform for the application, administration and consultation of environmental permits. By making the environmental permits process more transparent, accessible and efficient, eEnviPer helps to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities with the implementation of a cost-effective environmental permits process.

The Andasol solar power station is Europe's first parabolic trough solar power facility. Andasol will supply environmentally friendly solar power to about 500,000 residents in Spain. The new plant will cut carbon emissions in the region by 450,000t per annum compared with conventional coal-fired power plants.

Access to biological resources such as cells and tissue samples is the lifeblood of biomedical research. Biobanks and biomolecular resource centres collect, store and distribute this material, the related data and powerful analytical tools, but none of them can single-handedly meet the growing, diverse needs of Europe’s research community. EU funding has enabled major repositories to link up and share these resources.

e-SENS - European Simple Electronic Networked Services is a large-scale cross-border pilot project (LSP) in the area of digital public services (eGovernment) that has been active since April 2013. e-SENS encompasses all previous piloting domains of the LSP family (e-CODEX, epSOS, PEPPOL, STORK and STORK 2.0, SPOCS) thus striving to bring interoperability and standardization to the EU e-Services sector.

Brominated flame-retardants (BFRs) are chemicals containing bromine that are added to materials such as plastics and textiles to make them less flammable. The wide application of flame-retardants, for example in equipment such as smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices, as well as in special plastics, paints and textiles has grown considerably over the past 30 years. Combined with the increasing environmental impact of these compounds, this has raised potential toxicological and ecological concerns.

In an emergency evacuation, indicating the safest exit can save lives. EU-funded researchers hope to minimise casualties with a smart sign system able to determine the safest exit and point people towards it. Trials have been encouraging, and discussions are underway on further developing some of the project’s ground-breaking technologies.

AGROCOS is a pioneering European project which is using modern scientific techniques to explore the ancient – and still largely untapped - richness of nature to develop new products for the agrochemical and cosmetics industries.

To coincide with Graphene Week 2014, the European Commission announces that the Graphene Flagship, one of the largest-ever European research initiatives, is doubling in size. 66 new partners are being invited to join the consortium following the results of a €9 million competitive call.

EU-funded researchers have used carbon nanotubes to create exceptionally strong, lightweight and cost-effective materials for aircraft parts. They have demonstrated the potential of this material for making lighter aircraft that burn less fuel – a big boost to the competitiveness of Europe’s transport industry.

Type 1 diabetes results from abnormal activity of the body's immune system and it is on the rise in European children and adolescents. A European research project aims to find out why the cleanliness long assumed to be the best defence against this disease could actually be the cause of it.

Lung infections are one of the most common illnesses to potentially endanger the lives of prematurely born children. Babies born before their term can frequently suffer from Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity (CLD) or Broncho-pulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), and clinicians treating these infants might be forced to use drugs that are meant for use with older children and adults, but whose effects with neo-natal patients are unknown. The European Union (EU)-funded research project TINN2 seeks to solve this problem.

EU-funded researchers have piloted a novel purification process to dramatically cut the cost of extracting specific biological molecules from complex mixtures – a boost to the competitiveness of Europe’s pharmaceutical, food and animal feed industries.

The advent of desktop laser printers that can produce three-dimensional (3D) objects is rapidly changing the manufacturing landscape. The next generation of 3D printers is being ushered in by the European Union (EU)-funded project FEMTOPRINT that has invented a compact printer which can generate tiny glass objects three times stronger than steel. Developed by the FEMTOPRINT team, the device is the first that can make 3D objects at both “micro” and “nano” scales.