Key Themes

Bacteria that grow their own electrical wires to help them survive in harsh environments are transforming how we process sewage.

Space will soon be within the grasp of everyday people, small countries, researchers or start-up companies thanks to a fleet of low-cost launch vehicles under development across Europe.

Hacking trees by adding bacteria to their roots could help scrub contaminated soil clean of chemicals and metals from industrial spillages and fallouts, a process known as gentle remediation. 

Highly sophisticated computers are mining vast amounts of data from the web, digital maps and satellite imagery to pick out trends in areas like demographics, transport and the environment.

The energy sector could see a revolution along the same lines as the digital sector, but we first need to scale up breakthrough technologies and train more experts in areas such as smart grids, storage and renewables, according to Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission, in charge of Energy Union.

Scientists have found a way of producing electricity and fuel for cars from bacteria and green algae, and scaling up these techniques could create a reliable source of renewable energy that could be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. 

Europe’s big cities have been spreading their tentacles into surrounding villages and farmland for centuries. Now, satellite analysis is helping free up old parking lots, disused factories and abandoned roads to keep new developments inside the city limits.

The United Nation’s declaration on the future of the world’s cities, known as the Quito Declaration, will mean that citizens’ needs are placed at the heart of the urban development process, according to Dr Niki Frantzeskaki, an associate professor at the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

From Bergen in Norway to Bolzano in Italy, specialised refuelling stations mean that drivers of hydrogen-powered cars can now travel right across Europe.

From fungal spore spray to insect egg dispensers, unleashing an army of living enemies on crops to keep pests and diseases in check may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but it’s part of a more natural approach to agriculture, designed to decrease reliance on chemicals.