Innovation & Industry

EU must sharpen its focus on innovation to address climate change

The upcoming ‘Fit for 55’ package of EU regulations will have a vital role to play to support the creation and deployment of clean energy innovation, writes Peter Sweatman.

Artificial intelligence: Commission must think small first

The European Commission will this week present its proposal on Artificial Intelligence (AI), seen as a step toward a new regulatory framework, promised by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union, writes Marie-Françoise Gondard-Argenti.

Recover today, lead for 2030: A future-fit industrial strategy for Europe

The current political debate on industrial policy lacks an honest acknowledgement of how much is already decided – from EU recovery budgets to the 2030 climate targets, write Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Janez Potočnik. Sandrine Dixson-Declève is the president of The...

A new, climate-innovation led industrial strategy for Europe

Europe is an undisputed global leader in clean technologies like offshore wind. But to ensure European companies and workers can compete in a global economy that will be increasingly fuelled by climate innovations, much more needs to be done, argue Peter Sweatman and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin.

Why Europe must reskill workers to reach its climate goals

The large-scale social and economic shifts caused by the clean energy transition should be managed with care, write Magnus Tyreman and Hauke Engel. A broad training effort would enable Europe to create a labour force that will thrive during the pursuit of the net-zero emissions target, they argue.

Unified Patent Court: Poison pill for future of EU integration

The Unified Patent Court will fall largely out of EU control. The EU risks becoming a mere registration office of what the member states will have decided on their own, write four authors representing the CRIDES research centre.

‘Competitive sustainability’: time to realise the EU’s new approach

With international competition rapidly increasing, the EU would be complacent to assume its position on green technologies is uniformly strong or leading, write Martin Porter and Annika Hedberg.

Science and Innovation as the way out of the crisis

The only plausible exit strategy for our current global challenges is science and innovation. We need EU funding for science and innovation more than ever… yet the Council wants to cut Horizon Europe, warn Pascal Lamy and Carlos Moedas.

World solar technology summit: A blueprint for the energy intensive sector?

The world solar technology summit, which took place in India earlier this month, could in many ways be a model for the decarbonisation of the energy-intensive sector, which includes industries such as steel, cement, chemicals, non-ferrous metals and glass, writes Gauri Khandekar.

Spend it well – the EU’s €1.8 trillion problem

Europe has to rethink how it allocates resources to reach its climate targets, says Kirsten Dunlop. We need to change the way we do innovation, she argues.

How to realise our hydrogen economy (instead of dreaming about it)

Considering the limited amount of green hydrogen available, the European Commission should prioritise its use in sectors that cannot decarbonise through other means like electrification, write Miriam Dalli and Mohammed Chahim.

Europe’s need for an investment plan sustaining its future

The EU should to co-finance independent investments with equity in growth enterprises by guaranteeing public funding as pooled at EU level, write Christian Motzfeldt, Erika Mann and William Stevens.

The only way out is together

Protecting the EU's single market and Recovery Fund capable of delivering massive investment and promoting convergence are among the measures needed to ensure that EU countries recover from the coronavirus pandemic together, writes Elisa Ferreira.

Does Europe lack a financial market for photonics?

The photonics industry is an emerging but already consolidating market, with more than 100 acquisitions per year. But does Europe lack a financial market for the technology? EPIC's Carlos Lee explores.

Happy as a ‘sandbox’: Bulgaria’s tech upsurge

The creation of a "sandbox" - a safe environment where FinTech companies can test their products - is big news for Bulgaria and the entire tech community in Central and Eastern Europe, write Eduard Tsvetanov and Filip Genov.  

Science could become collateral damage of Brexit

A no-deal Brexit at the end of the year, or even a minimal, thin-deal Brexit, with no provision for cooperation on science, innovation and other crucial fields, would deliver a serious blow to economic competitiveness in the UK and the EU, writes Sir Michael Leigh.

EU Green Deal can help set the tone for CEOs in Davos

The European Green Deal gives CEOs a major opportunity to lead their companies in ways that can build their brands while also cutting carbon. So what, exactly, should they do? Thomas Pellerin-Carlin and Peter Sweatman have three suggestions.