Industry | Research and Innovation

Formic acid, first discovered in ants, could soon be produced from captured CO2, opening the door to more sustainable consumer products. © frank60, Shutterstock.com

Environment | Industry | Science in society

Turning CO2 from urban waste into useful consumer products

EU-funded researchers are turning carbon emissions from urban waste into everyday household products – from cleaning liquids to leather.

In one project with UK partners, researchers test automated vehicles to improve safety. © Maikol Funk Drechsler, THI/CARISSMA, 2025

Environment | ICT | Industry | Science in society | Transport

From storms to sensors: how cross-border research with UK partners shapes safer and greener technologies

Since the UK rejoined Horizon Europe in 2024, EU-funded cross-border research with UK partners has been delivering safer, smarter, more sustainable ...

Researchers are using innovative methods to revive landscapes around former coal mines across Europe, such as the Janina mine in southern Poland. © GIG-PIB, 2025

Environment | Industry | Science in society

From mines to meadows: how science is reviving Europe’s forgotten landscapes

EU-funded researchers are transforming former coal-mining sites across Europe into thriving areas that provide lasting environmental and social ...

More and more modern airplanes, like the Airbus A380, are made of carbon fibre materials. Soon, graphene will further improve the use of carbon based materials in the transport industry, boosting performances of planes while reducing their weight and thus their fuel consumption.

Industry | Frontier research | Innovation Union

Electrified planes and quadruple-glazed windows

From quadruple-glazed windows to planes whose fuselage can be electrically heated, graphene is changing the world.

Professor Jari Kinaret (Chalmers University, SE) is coordinating the EU Graphene Flagship. Supercapacitors are one reason why the EU has set up the Graphene Flagship. The European Union has plans for investing hundreds of millions of euros over the next ten years in research on graphene, due to its high potential impact in many industrial sectors, and is working with other funders to join forces. © Graphene-flagship.eu

Industry | Frontier research | Innovation Union

High-power capacitors to replace batteries

They charge in seconds and could run your laptop for a month – supercapacitors are coming, and it’s thanks to graphene, one atom-thick sheets of carbon that are revolutionising industry.

Biofuel can be produced from algae. At the Farnborough Airshow 2010, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space company (EADS) showcased flights of an aircraft powered by pure biofuel made from this resource. © EADS

Environment | Industry | Bioeconomy

Shifting gear on biofuels

Car fuel made from agricultural waste could help cut down carbon usage without taking up land that is used to grow food. It is one innovation that could help the biofuels industry shift up a gear.

Biomaterials in granular form are today used to make items such as mulching film or disposable tableware as well as different kinds of packaging. © Novamont

Environment | Industry | Bioeconomy

From plastic litter to high-quality compost

Early shoots for the bioeconomy have sprung up through innovative ideas in completely different businesses. And, at the same time, they raise some legislative initiatives.

Test of the quality of a laser beam produced by the Amplitude start-up company in France. The technology proposed by this company has been co-patented by the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, France. © CNRS Phototèque – Kaksonenl

Industry | Policy

EU patents predict green recovery

If the type of patents being filed by Europe’s companies is anything to go by, the economy that will emerge from the financial crisis in Europe may be decidedly green.

Bioeconomy | Environment | Industry | Agriculture

Bioeconomy: the new revolution

The industrial revolution made the world wealthy through a simple idea: to replace the physical labour of humans and animals with energy from fossil fuels. Two-and-a-half centuries after the revolution started, however, it is in trouble. The oil that powers much of the world’s economy is running out, and the greenhouse gases given off by the fuels are harming the planet.

In the French region of Champagne, local farmers and industrial partners have developed a fully integrated industrial biorefinery. It takes advantage of the biomass, based on traditional agro-industries, for new applications of agro-resources to be used in the local area. © Getty

Energy | Bioeconomy | Agriculture | Industry

Biorefinery sorts the chaff from the wheat

Among the vineyards and wheat fields of north-eastern France, a revolution in chemical manufacturing is quietly gathering momentum. Here, biomass is turned into valuable components and energy.