Offshore wind-farms are an attractive source of renewable energy, overcoming a number of concerns linked to on-land wind turbines. An EU-funded project is increasing cost-effectiveness out at sea with new, lightweight, innovative components. One system prototype is being tested, while another is under development.
Find your next research & technology partner during the EU Sustainable Energy Week E² Tech4Cities. Energy & Efficiency Technologies for Cities is a highly visible brokerage event organised by Enterprise Europe Brussels and hosted by impulse.brussels and Enterprise Europe Northern Ireland during the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW). The event will take place at Invest Northern Ireland and is supported by the European Commission.
First Innovative Enterprise week “Access to Finance for Research, Innovation and SMEs 2015” is a 3-day international conference on:
The first ten projects of the new Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), a partnership between the EU and industry, will get underway with a total of €50 million from Horizon 2020, the EU's research funding programme, and a further €28 million from the industry. This is thanks to the signature of the grant agreements finalised today (15 June 2015).
The Sun provides a steady source of power that could make solar energy a sustainable alternative to conventional sources of energy, provided that technological advances can actually reduce energy production costs. Prof. Michael Grätzel modified the composition of dye-sensitized solar cells to significantly increase their efficiency, including for indoor use. His result laid the ground for paradigm shifts that could revolutionise solar cells technology.
End of 2014 the first Horizon 2020 projects were signed. Since then almost four thousand more have been added.
As announced by President Juncker on 13 May 2015, the European Commission intends to set up a new Scientific Advice Mechanism ("SAM"). The mechanism will support the Commission with high-quality, timely and independent scientific advice for its policy-making activities.
Developing numerical models for analysing the stability, efficiency and feasibility of floating wind turbines, the future of offshore wind power generation, was the remit of the EU-funded ICFLOAT project. Its innovative techniques are already being used to analyse other types of wind energy devices.
The EU-funded FUSENET project created new learning opportunities for Europe’s future fusion scientists by developing educational materials, organising internships and bringing academia and industry closer together. While the project may be officially over, the concept has been kept very much alive through the ever-expanding FUSENET Association.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has the potential to help the EU significantly cut its greenhouse gas emissions. However, a lack of low-cost and energy-efficient capture technologies is hampering their take-up. EU-funded researchers have developed new CCS technologies to produce efficient and cost-effective electrical power from fossil fuels with near-zero emissions. One solution has been patented, while another is being prepared for market.
The step from design to real-world implementation is the test of any new technology. An EU-supported project showed how to combine two solar power innovations to provide sunshine energy to customers, day and night.
For three decades, the EU Framework Programmes have been funding breakthroughs across Europe. RTD’s Horizon Magazine looks at the people and events that have helped shape European research policy, taking you behind the scenes during the pivotal moments from the last 30 years of research funding. These articles have been brought together into a special Horizon supplement to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Framework Programmes.
One year after the launch of the Horizon 2020 programme, Science|Business will bring together applicants, project holders, industry executives and key policy makers to take stock of the programme and discuss the most important challenges for Europe to solve over the next 20 years.
Horizon 2020 has started, a new game with new rules. What are the experiences so far? What has improved? What new obstacles and challenges have appeared? Are there already best practices we can learn from?
The three-year 'Robotic Manipulation for Nuclear Sort and Segregation' (RoMaNs) project will receive a total of €6.4 million through Horizon 2020. It aims to develop an autonomous robotics system for nuclear waste handling. This will avoide environmental hazards and dangerous working conditions.
Most wind energy comes from turbines 150 metres above ground level. Winds at this altitude are however weak and intermittent, with most wind farms operating at only 25 – 30 % of their capacity. EU-funded researchers have developed a prototype wind energy system that works at much higher altitudes, where winds are stronger and more constant, increasing electricity production dramatically. A commercialised product is in the pipeline.
A new call for proposals for Smart Cities and Communities under Horizon 2020 opened on 10 December 2014 (deadline for submitting proposals is 5 May 2015). It calls for proposals in two topics: SCC-01-2015: Smart Cities and Communities solutions integrating energy, transport and ICT sectors through lighthouse (large scale demonstration – first of the kind) projects and SCC-03-2015: Development of system standards for smart cities and communities solutions.
The German energy NCP is holding two webinars on the upcoming Horizon 2020 calls on Energy Efficiency. Representatives from EASME will share their knowledge about different aspects concerning the Energy Efficiency subcalls Market Uptake, RIA and PDA.
Furthermore, a representative of the European Investment Bank will give an overview about ELENA-EIB, a very similar financial support programme to topic EE 20 "Project development assistance".
The world's oceans are veritable power houses. If we could harness the forces of their waves and tides on a large scale, they could provide a considerable amount of sustainable electric power. An innovative offshore test facility developed with EU funding and already on the market is taking us one step closer to that goal.
With the support of the European Research Council (ERC) "Proof of Concept" grants, 59 researchers in Europe will now get the chance to turn their inventions into viable products.
