Month: May 2025

Navigating growth: researchers use blockchain and AI to reclaim Europe’s inland waterways

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A cruise ship sails on Portugal’s Douro River, part of Europe’s underutilised inland waterways that researchers are working to make more sustainable. © Mário Rodrigues/APDL

Europe’s expansive inland waterways remain underutilised despite their potential. Researchers and industry partners are developing innovative tools, such as digital simulations of river flows or blockchain-powered pollution control, that support smarter, more resilient and sustainable inland waterway transport. By Tom Cassauwers The Douro River is one of Portugal’s best-known waterways. It flows through the region … Read more

Metrology matters: the hidden science driving the green and digital transition

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Getting measurements right is key to breakthroughs in everything from science and tech to everyday life. © Audrius Merfeldas, Shutterstock.com

Often overlooked, metrology – the science of measurement – underpins countless aspects of daily life, from accurately telling the time to ensuring the security of digital communications. By Tom Cassauwers As Europe ramps up efforts to transition to a greener economy, hydrogen is taking centre stage as a clean energy solution, particularly for decarbonising sectors … Read more

Cracking the code of supersolid light – and what it means for future quantum tech

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EU-funded researchers are working out how to harness the power of light in solid structures. © Nikki Zalewski, Shutterstock.com

EU-funded researchers have brought supersolid light to life in the lab and are now exploring how this strange new state of matter could power real-world technologies. By Jonathan O’Callaghan Can light ever be a solid? It turns out that, in the microscopic world of the quantum realm, maybe it can. In a recent groundbreaking EU-funded … Read more

Bringing the outdoors in: architecture that nurtures our connection with nature

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Lessons learned from the traditional connection with nature in Japanese and Danish architecture could help build greener urban spaces for the future. © PhD Carmen García Sánchez, 2020

EU-funded researchers are exploring the role of architecture in designing living spaces that harness the healing power of nature to improve the health and well-being of urban populations. By Bárbara Pinho Dr Carmen García Sánchez likes to ride her bike in the Danish countryside. That is how she first discovered how closely post-war Danish architecture … Read more

Self-driving trucks: en route to transform Europe’s freight sector

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Researchers are preparing automated trucks equipped with cameras, sensors and radars to transport cargo on Europe’s public roads. © Einride

EU-funded researchers are accelerating the rollout of self-driving trucks on public roads to solve driver shortages and improve safety and sustainability in Europe’s logistics sector. By Bárbara Pinho In the not-so-distant future, unusual looking cargo vehicles – sporting large black windscreens and with no human driver behind the wheel – could become a common sight … Read more