Many of the precursor chemicals essential to our everyday products are derived from fossil fuels. A breakthrough in molecular engineering made by the EU-funded CATACOAT project could help industry transition towards renewable sources of carbon, such as plants. This could help to reduce our carbon footprint, and create new green business opportunities.
Until electric cars and other energy-efficient innovations are practical and affordable to all, the internal combustion engine will continue to be widely used, with the consequent greenhouse gas emissions. To help reduce pollution levels, EU-funded researchers have developed new laser ignition techniques, which have the potential to make combustion engines far more energy-efficient.
With some 210 million buildings in Europe, most of them energy inefficient, the scope for sustainability gains is huge. How would Europe deal with the cost of all those renovations? An EU-funded pilot scheme that already involves 65 banks is proposing incentivised mortgages as a way to leverage the necessary funds, fast.
Amid an urgent need to cut carbon emissions to combat climate change, EU-funded researchers have developed a new generation of highly efficient power plants for generating heat and electricity from biomass.
An EU-funded project has perfected the production of bio-oil and altered boilers to heat homes - recycling farm and forestry waste whilst cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
An EU and industry-funded project is converting extracts of lemon rinds, almond husks and corn by-products into sustainably sourced car parts and building components, replacing fossil-based plastics, protecting the environment and growing the circular economy.
Seven communities in south-eastern Europe plan to install biomass-based district heating systems thanks to an EU-funded project designed to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and strengthen local economies.
EU-funded researchers have discovered new families of proteins and enzymes that will enable the development of novel plant-based biomaterials, potentially providing viable sustainable and renewable alternatives to plastics and other fossil-fuel-derived materials and chemicals.
EU-funded researchers planted, harvested, processed and analysed the life cycle of woody crops to establish how efficient and environmentally friendly they are as a source of fuel for electricity and heat.
An 'artificial leaf' being developed by EU-funded researchers to produce fuel from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, could tackle soaring global energy demands, the growing impact of climate change, and dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.
