Data collection and exploitation is a growing phenomenon; in response to industry and grassroots demands the European Commission is calling on national governments to wake-up to this “big data” revolution. One of the main concrete proposed actions to solve these problems is the creation of an open data incubator (within the Horizon 2020 framework), to help SMEs set up supply chains based on data and use cloud computing more.

An EU-funded research project called SOLAR-JET has produced the world's first "solar" jet fuel from water and carbon dioxide (CO2), a promising technology for a better energy security and turning possibly a greenhouse gas into a useful resource.

Research in the next generation of technologies is key for Europe’s competitiveness. This is why €2.7 billion will be invested in Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) under the new research programme Horizon 2020 (2014-2020). This represents a nearly threefold increase in budget compared to the previous research programme, FP7. FET actions are part of the Excellent science pillar of Horizon 2020.

Eleven universities and technical institutes in less developed regions in Europe are to receive up to €2.4 million each in EU funding to boost their research capacity though the appointment of the first ever "ERA Chairs", Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, announced on Monday. The initiative aims to bridge Europe's innovation divide by attracting top academics to organisations so that they can compete with centres of excellence elsewhere in the European Research Area (ERA).

The European Commission welcomed the adoption by EU Member States of Horizon 2020, the next EU research and innovation programme. With a budget of nearly EUR 80 billion euro over seven years, Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU research programme yet, and one of the biggest publicly funded worldwide.

The Human Brain Project: The world’s most ambitious neuroscience project is underway. Scientists from the 135 partner institutions of the Human Brain Project, co-funded by the European Union with an estimated budget of EUR 1.2 billion, are meeting in Switzerland for the official launch.

With more than 130 research institutions from Europe and around the world on board and hundreds of scientists in a myriad of fields participating, the Human Brain Project is the most ambitious neuroscience project ever launched. Its goal is to develop methods that will enable a deep understanding of how the human brain operates.