Directorate-General for Research & Innovation logo Horizon: the EU Research & Innovation magazine | European Commission logo
Receive our editor’s picks

Energy

The uLites shelter can be extended by adding more tubes, giving emergency services the ability to create large structures to help people after a disaster. Image courtesy of Buildair
energy | open to the world
18 July 2016

Inflatable, self-sustaining and extendable – the new breed of emergency shelter

A new breed of emergency shelter with built-in solar power, a backpack that gives access to mobile charging and a bag that converts manure into cooking gas are among the new generation of emergency response kits that could help people survive in the wake of a disaster that knocks out their energy supply. 

Michael Gera's firm is investing in innovative African companies like Off:Grid:Electric, which is bypassing the traditional power grid system and creating eco-friendly solutions. Image courtesy of Michael Gera
energy | interview | open to the world
11 July 2016

Conditions are right for off-grid electrification of Africa – Michael Gera, EAV

Mini-grids, mobile payments and smart meters are all helping to create an off-grid model of electricity provision in Africa, helped by bottom-up funding and low-cost solar power, according to Michael Gera, managing partner and co-founder of specialist venture capitalist firm Energy Access Ventures (EAV). 

The WaveRoller is taken out to sea on a barge and will sit at the bottom of the ocean and harness wave energy to produce electricity. Image courtesy of WaveRoller
energy | policy | open innovation
07 July 2016

Shipwreck-inspired wave power idea nets EUR 10 mn for full-scale demo

A device that can convert the kinetic energy of the waves into electricity that can be fed into the grid has won a EUR 10 million loan from the EU to enable its Finnish developer to build the first full-scale demonstration unit.

Venture capital firms around Europe have received a EUR 90 million injection from the EU’s European Investment Fund to invest in companies looking to grow. Image credit: Pexels/ Startupstockphotos.com
ict | energy | health | policy | open innovation
06 July 2016

Think big, be open, and have a novel business model – how to attract venture capital

Thinking big, being open to advice and guidance, and having an innovative business model are key ingredients for attracting venture capital (VC) financing, say European fund managers who are looking to invest in companies with high-growth potential in the cleantech, medtech and ICT sectors. 

Watly can purify up to 5 000 litres of water a day while also providing electricity and wi-fi. Image courtesy of Watly
ict | energy | policy | open to the world
04 July 2016

WALL-E inspires sun-powered purifier for remote areas

It would look at home in a space colony, but a prototype has been tested in a rural village in Ghana.

Energy use in buildings accounts for 40 % of the EU's energy consumption. Image credit: Flickr/Martin Abegglen
energy | environment
30 June 2016

Next wave of renewables to drive urban energy revolution

Researchers are hoping to usher in an urban energy revolution by fitting our homes with third-generation solar cells, micro wind turbines and seasonal energy storage.

There are nearly 100 hydrogen buses on European roads, yet many people do not know hydrogen-fuelled vehicles are already on the market, according to Bart Biebuyck. Image courtesy of Bart Biebuyck
energy | interview | public–private partnerships
23 June 2016

We have to let people know that hydrogen technology is ready – Bart Biebuyck

People don’t know that hydrogen-fuelled vehicles and home heating systems are already on the market, and that is the biggest obstacle to their uptake, according to Bart Biebuyck, the recently appointed executive director of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, a public-private partnership between the EU and the fuel cell and hydrogen industries.

Researchers are using new technologies such as magnetic brakes and sleepers made from recycled tyres to make the next generation of rail travel greener, quieter and more durable. Image courtesy of Metro Madrid
transport | energy | open innovation
27 April 2016

Europe’s future railways will generate energy

Electricity-generating tracks, longer-lasting brakes and more energy-efficient trains could help to decrease the environmental footprint of the billions of railway journeys taken across Europe each year.

In order to ease demands on Europe’s power grids, researchers in the SCANERGY project suggest using an online currency to boost local trade between energy producers and consumers. Image credit: flickr/ Inderjit Nijjer
energy | open innovation
25 April 2016

Virtual currency for ‘prosumers’ could save EU power grids

A Bitcoin-style virtual currency could save Europe’s power grids from reaching breaking point as more and more ‘prosumers’ come on line – consumers who also put energy back into the network from domestic wind turbines and solar panels.

The design of the Wendelstein 7-X reactor allows for a magnetic field to hold the high-temperature ionised plasma in place, thus allowing for a stable fusion reaction. Image courtesy of the Max-Planck-Institute for Particle Physics
energy | open to the world
14 April 2016

Twisting design of fusion reactor is thanks to supercomputers

With hundreds of viewports of different lengths jutting from its outer wall, the Wendelstein 7-X looks otherworldly — more like science fiction than an experimental fusion reactor dreamt up by human beings. That’s because the humans had help. 

Pages