Physical sciences, Earth sciences

In 2009, a UK SME going by the name of Scubacraft introduced the world to their convertible speedboat/submarine. Seven years later, the project has been granted support under the SME Instrument, and the company is now contemplating new markets including offshore wind farm maintenance.

In 2010, world leading companies in offshore wind came together to form ‘The Friends of the Supergrid’ — an association that advocates for an efficient, interconnected and resilient electricity grid to complement existing national transmission infrastructure. The MEDOW project is playing its part by advancing research on multi-terminal DC grids, which are considered as the key technology to connect offshore wind farms to this supergrid.

Following the granting of a young British girl’s instructions to be cryogenically preserved so she can be revived in the future when a cure for cancer exists, there has been intense debate inside and outside the scientific community on both the viability of cryogenic freezing but also on the ethical issues thrown up by the procedure. Once again, it raises the centuries-old question that defines the conflict between modern science and ethics: Even if we could do something, should we?

Floating wind turbines for offshore use are seen by many as embodying the future of the sector: they circumvent the problem of unsuitable seabeds and may even cost less than grounded alternatives. A consortium working under the FLOATGEN banner is looking for a share of the pie with the first-ever floating wind turbine to be set-up in the Atlantic close to the French coast.

By developing several innovative experimental systems, EU-funded researchers now have a better indication of how much cosmic dust enters the Earth’s atmosphere and what impact it has.

The timing of the first crust formation events are important in understanding the early Earth and how our planet was formed. New ERC-funded results from the EARLY EARTH project, coordinated by the University of Bonn, have provided further evidence that this occurred 4.36 billion years ago using isotopic dating of sub 20 micrometre mineral particles.

EU-funded researchers have used a new process called comminution dating to better understand Antarctica’s geological and climatic history.

Using ice-cores and a new isotopic method that can provide more precise temperature information, Marie Curie Fellow, Takuro Kobashi, has gained an insight into Greenland’s climate history. His data suggests Greenland’s temperatures and global-sea-levels may increase faster than current climate projections.

An EU-funded project has been helping cities face the future with confidence by tackling climate change, putting the green back into cities, and preventing urban sprawl in new and exciting ways.

During its final conference held in Brussels on 18 October 2016, the EU-funded USE-IT-WISELY project outlined its innovative frameworks and tools that will equip European manufacturers to effectively compete in an increasingly globalised world economy.

Through a unique training programme that brought industry and academia together, the EU–funded MARE-WINT project has helped to fill a significant skills gap in the burgeoning offshore wind energy sector.

Studying the response of living organisms to climate change is essential in the face of what increasingly looks like an irreversible trend. However, unlike other species which have gathered much scientific attention, insects seem to have been left behind. An EU project is seeking to bridge this knowledge gap while taking insects’ specific features into account.

Researchers have developed an offshore wind turbine system that can be completely pre-assembled and pre-commissioned in controlled harbour conditions.

The EU-funded TOWERPOWER project is developing reliable new techniques to continuously monitor the structural condition of offshore wind turbines. Optimising maintenance and inspections is a key way to help the sector achieve cost efficiencies.

Environmental Impact Assessments – which generally tend to be completed before offshore renewable energy plants can be built – could be delivered much more cost-effectively through applying a risk-based approach, say EU-funded researchers.

Following its final conference that took place in Brussels on 4 October 2016, the EU-funded HERCULES consortium has provided stakeholders with a detailed set of policy recommendations that will preserve Europe’s diverse heritage in cultural landscapes.

Collaborative research funded by the ERC’s CACH project has announced the first real evidence that deep-sea animals are ingesting microplastics that are finding their way into the world’s oceans. This comes at a poignant moment as several governments are considering a ban on plastic microbeads, most often found in toiletries and cleaning products.

During its final conference in Brussels from 27 to 28 September, the FESSUD project brought together leading academics, economists and financial experts to disseminate its key results and discuss how Europe’s financial system can be better structured to serve economic, societal and environmental needs.

The EU-funded ATBEST project has recently hosted its final international conference from 7 to 8 September 2016 in Linköping, Sweden, where it outlined its toolbox of innovative solutions to support and promote the future growth and sustainability of the European biogas sector.

New methods for achieving efficient paper recycling have been developed, creating new business opportunities in sustainably managing waste.

Researchers have combined sugar alcohols with carbon nanotubes to create a material capable of storing renewable energy as heat.

Existing methods to capture CO2 suffer from a series of drawbacks directly affecting their output. Aiming to improve the situation, Dr. Sonia Zulfiqar has been investigating the CO2 absorption capacity of new materials based on amide polymeric ionic liquids.

Research partly supported through the EU-funded EXPEER project has found that plants are increasingly adapting to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), which could have important implications for global food security and nature conservation.

Businesses looking to cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint now have access to a new tool that evaluates the energy performance of data centres.

A new study has argued that major earthquakes, such as those that devastated Chile in 2010 and Japan in 2011, are more likely to occur during full and new moons – the two occassions during each month when tidal stresses are highest.