EU enlargement - what impact on research in Bulgaria, Romania and the EU?

When the European Commission approved the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union on 26 September, reactions around Europe were mixed. Commentators honed in on immigration, the structural funds, judicial reform or the final farewell to the Iron Curtain.

But at a time when research is being talked up as the way to a knowledge economy, and consequently competitiveness and growth, what does Europe’s research community, and in particular that of Bulgaria and Romania, make of the enlargement? What will research from these countries bring to the EU? And as Bulgarian and Romanian researchers have been fully involved in EU research programmes for some time, will it actually make any difference? […]

full article at cordis.europa.eu

Towards more effective hydrogen storage

A Marie Curie Research Training Network which aims to find new, more effective ways of storing hydrogen has just been launched.

Hydrogen can be produced by renewable sources of energy and has great potential as an energy source for mobile devices such as cars, laptops and cameras. However, this potential is currently being held back as existing hydrogen storage systems tend to be heavy and bulky.

The COSY (Complex Solid State Reactions for Energy Efficient Hydrogen Storage) Network aims to develop systems which will allow hydrogen to be stored more effectively, making it an ideal energy source for a range of applications. The researchers will new develop nano-structured composites of various light-metal hydrides for use as storage materials. […]

full text at cordis.europa.eu

For more information on the COSY Training Network, please visit:
http://www.cosy-net.eu/

Hydrogen storage goes metal-free

Researchers in Canada have developed a new solid material that can store and release hydrogen near room temperature without involving a transition metal. The discovery could lead to the development of low-cost and lightweight materials for the onboard storage of hydrogen fuel in cars (Science 314 1124).

Hydrogen is often touted as an environmentally-friendly fuel for road vehicles of the future. When consumed in a fuel-cell powered electric car, it produces nothing more than pure water as a by-product. However, many technological challenges remain before it can be used commercially. In particular, hydrogen has a low energy density compared to conventional fuels and therefore it must be stored as a liquid or an extremely high-pressure gas to ensure that reasonable distances can be travelled before refuelling. […]

full article at physicsweb.org

Second ENFUGEN Workshop and Training in Poland, Warsaw 16 November 2006

ENFUGEN workshop will be organised during Conference Launching FP7 in Poland.
This workshop will be devoted to the new energy technologies and especially to the fuel cells and hydrogen.

enfugen-workshopprogramme.doc

7th Framework Programme in Poland inauguration conference

The main objective of the Conference Launching the 7th Framework Programme (2007-2013) is to officially start FP7 in Poland and to assist the preparation of projects to FP7. During the Conference the basic information about major aims, rules of participation, budget and structure of FP7 will be presented. The Conference will enable entering working relationships of research and industrial teams interested in creating consortia preparing the projects of FP7. Moreover, the conference will provide the strengthening of European cooperation in the area of scientific research, new technologies and innovation, in particular the promotion of Polish technological and research initiatives.

For more information:
http://www.kpk.gov.pl/inauguracja7pr/english/ts10_tw.html

Dissemination and promotion of the achievements of the IEE programme

The Intelligent Energy Executive Agency, acting under powers delegated by the European Commission, launches this invitation to tender to help communicate the achievements of the IEE programme, and possibly other programmes which the IEEA may manage in the future. This call for tenders comprises of 5 lots and has a total contract value of € 6 million.

Deadline for the submission of tenders: 25 August 2006

For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/tender/index_en.htm

IEE programme -2006 call for proposal

The 2006 call for proposals - the last under the current IEE programme - has been published. European organisations can apply for financial support for their projects before 31 October 2006. Approximately € 50 million will be made available to co-finance up to 50% of the project costs. Organisations from EU Member States, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein can apply.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/index_en.htm

ENFUGEN Web Portal - Work in progress

Welcome to ENFUGEN portal !! This site is under construction.

ENFUGEN is an EC funded project aiming at increasing the collaboration among researchers all over Europe in the field of Fuel Cells and Hydrogen applications.

ENFUGEN will provide all the necessary support and tools to favour the creation of R&D working groups and stimulate the “concurrent engineering” of project proposals to be submitted to the EC for financing.
Please come and visit us again in the next weeks to know more about the ENFUGEN collaborative environment, its objectives and how to participate.

For more information please contact:
Cristina Torrisi c.torrisi@labor-roma.it