hledat
What if we ran out of copper?
Copper is a relatively common element with a variety of suppliers, and that should typically mean a stable market. However, the copper market has recently been showing unusual instability. New EU legislation, though not always directly related, seems to be having a significant impact on copper prices. This is the case for the Chips Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act – designed to make EU industry more resilient by improving strategic autonomy – but also for laws concerning energy, artificial ...
What if electrification transformed the EU economy?
Electrification is the process of replacing technologies and systems that rely on fossil fuels with those powered by electricity, often sourced from renewable energy. Electrification is gaining momentum across many sectors, including transport, buildings and industry, driven by the EU's climate ambition and security of supply. As the cost of renewable energy technologies like solar and wind continues to fall, electrification presents an opportunity to reshape the European economy, enhancing competitiveness ...
The protection of mental privacy in the area of neuroscience - Societal, legal and ethical challenges
Advances in (neuro)technological development have led to an increase in the use and accessibility of neurotechnologies (NT), allowing brain activity to be recorded, analysed and manipulated by neurotechnological devices. While they were originally used only for clinical purposes, they are becoming more and more attractive for healthy populations willing to enhance their cognitive or physical abilities. Consumer-grade devices can be acquired and used by lay persons without supervision in work, education ...
Identifying data gaps in the textile industry and assessing current initiatives to address them
This study identifies data gaps throughout the textile industry supply and value chains, from fibre to the end of product life stage and assesses current initiatives addressing them. It also exposes the following challenges: missing data, data accessibility, data management, reliability and relevance, mandatory or non-mandatory data collection, data sharing, and data cost issues. Drawing on a literature review, 17 stakeholder interviews and 2 expert workshops, the study gathers essential insights ...
The role of research and innovation in ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials in the EU
This study aims to illuminate the role of research and innovation (R&I) in ensuring a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials (CRM). It provides background information on CRMs, related EU policies, sustainability issues, and public controversy, tying all these in with their respective R&I needs. The study reviews the role of R&I and cooperation in securing the EU's raw material supply, highlighting the significance of R&I along the value chain and analysing patenting activities and ...
Global Gateway 2030: Future of Europe's global infrastructure bid
The EU Global Gateway, a €300 billion infrastructure investment strategy launched in December 2021, seeks to build sustainable and secure connections in the digital, energy and transport sectors and boost Europe's competitiveness and supply chain security across the world. What might the strategy look like in future? This paper presents four possible scenarios for the Global Gateway in 2030, based on survey responses from 30 policy experts: 'optimal gateway', 'failed gateway', 'corporate gateway' ...
Closing the blue loops: Responsible and sustainable innovation in the fields of water and ocean
This report evaluates the need and scope for an EIT Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) focused on water, marine, and maritime areas (KIC WMM). It identifies existing gaps in innovation ecosystems and recommends thematic focus areas with the highest potential for technological development, market deployment, and benefits for EU citizens. Key stakeholders, public engagement methods, funding mechanisms, and legal and regulatory barriers are analysed. Policy options are provided to foster innovation ...
The Horizon Europe Programme: A strategic assessment of selected items
Horizon Europe is the EU's key funding programme for research and innovation, containing ambitious commitments to scientific progress, climate neutrality, and improving the EU's competitiveness and growth. This study evaluates the following selected items in Horizon Europe: the evolution of calls and funding, adoption of the Common Model Grant Agreement (CMGA), implementation of the strategic plan, discontinuation of the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagship, the participation barriers ...
Horizon Europe support for the European Green Deal
The European Green Deal, aimed at making the EU climate neutral by 2050, outlines a comprehensive approach to sustainability, requiring profound transformation across all industrial sectors. Horizon Europe, the EU's foremost research and innovation programme, can be a critical enabler, providing the necessary funding, framework and innovation pathways to support this transition. Employing a combination of desk research and stakeholder consultations, this study evaluates Horizon Europe's alignment ...
Digital product passport for the textile sector
A European digital product passport (DPP) could enhance textile industry traceability, circularity, and transparency. This study focuses on the possibility to introduce a DPP, framed within the European Union's strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. It examines the potential, needs, benefits, and challenges associated with deploying a DPP for all stakeholders throughout the European textile sector's value chain. A DPP could benefit all actors in this complex value chain, including producers ...