More efficient, longer-lasting machine and vehicle components, improved medical implants and novel fluid control technologies are just a few of the potential applications emerging from an EU-funded project inspired by the unique ways in which the skins of some animals interact with water.
Scientists are focusing on technologies for storing heat as a means of increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix. As part of this push, an EU-funded project is testing new materials that perform well at very high temperatures.
A special capsule that shields transplanted insulin-producing cells from a recipient's immune system represents a cost-effective improvement in treatment for diabetes patients. The biomaterials developed and put through preclinical trials by an EU-funded project could also have other applications, such as repairing organs.
How many stars in the Milky Way have at least one planet similar to Earth? A rocky planet that is capable of sustaining liquid water on its surface? More than one in five, say EU-funded researchers who shed new light on the nature of terrestrial exoplanets, boosting Europe's contribution to the advancement of astrophysics.
The ability to control key forces that drive biological functioning would be a boon for a number of medical fields. With a focus on breast cancer, an EU-funded project is bringing together different research communities to work towards understanding and controlling cellular mechanics.
Working with Latin American partners, such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the EU-funded BABET-REAL5 project has proven the social and economic value of its compact biofuel production process.
An EU-funded project has helped bioenergy SMEs in six EU countries to become more economically sustainable/profitable and more competitive on the market by supporting them with technical, funding and management guidance, as the EU seeks to meet its climate and energy goals.
Continuous monitoring of the heart is necessary to detect abnormal heart rhythms and prevent sudden cardiac deaths. EU-funded research has helped to develop a novel device to make this more convenient for both doctors and patients.
Deserts and other sun-drenched regions are the ideal location for concentrated solar power plants, but where sunlight is abundant water tends to be scarce. EU-funded researchers are solving this conundrum by developing technologies to comprehensively reduce water consumption, enabling CSP plants to play an even bigger role in addressing the world’s energy and climate change challenges.
What do you do with unwanted catch - avoid it, discard it or land it? Discarding it is now banned under the EU's common fisheries policy. Two EU-funded projects explored options and strategies in a bid to support industry with this move towards greater sustainability – such as technology enabling vessels to fish more selectively.
