An ERC grant motivated Prof. Guust Nolet to move back to Europe to develop small underwater robots that could help us understand our planet’s structure. Ten years later, thanks to an industrial partnership funded by an additional ERC grant, these robots are also employed to monitor the health of our oceans.
Ανάμεσα στους κρωγμούς των πουλιών σε ένα μικρό, απομακρυσμένο νησί στην πύλη του Αιγαίου πελάγους, ένα φιλόδοξο έργο επιχορηγούμενο από το Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο Έρευνας (ΕΣΕ) και με συντονιστή τον Δρ. Βασίλη Αμοιρίδη, έβαλε τις βάσεις για τη δημιουργία ενός παρατηρητηρίου για την κλιματική αλλαγή, με την ενθουσιώδη υποστήριξη του ΕΣΕ, του Εθνικού Αστεροσκοπείου Αθηνών (ΕΑΑ) και της Ελληνικής κυβέρνησης.
Amidst the raspy jabbering of Buzzards on a remote island at the edge of the Aegean Sea, one ambitious ERC grantee, Dr. Vassilis Amiridis, instigated the construction of a climate change superstation with the enthusiastic support of the ERC, the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and the Greek government.
By creating a conversion process for recycling carbon dioxide into feedstock, the CO2Recycling project is paving the way towards a sustainable chemical industry.
Inspired by the country’s cloudy weather, an Irish researcher has developed a new way to increase the efficiency of solar panels – even in the event of overcast skies. With a grant from the European Research Council (ERC), the disruptive technology has increased the viability of effective solar energy collection in northern Europe. The potential of this innovation could be huge given Europe’s growing demand for cost-effective and sustainable energy solutions.
Quantifying the carbon storage potential of terrestrial ecosystems will have to take account of the relative contributions of photosynthesis and respiration to the global carbon cycle. The SOLCA project developed an ambitious approach to tackle this challenge.
A European bioengineer has pushed the boundaries of cell manipulation by pioneering a new, droplet-based method of study. His innovation, allowing for the highly detailed observation of cells, has resulted in the launch of a spin-off company as well as further research into cell cultures. Fuelled by a European Research Council (ERC) grant, the technology promises to open doors to new applications in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical research.
An unexpected discovery by EU-funded researchers has opened up a new field of photovoltaic technology that promises a more efficient and economical way to convert solar energy into electrical power.
Quantum computers are the Holy Grail of information theorists. For years, scientists have been trying to crack their mysteries, to harvest their interesting applications. They are predicted to have tremendous computational power, exponentially larger than the computers available today. However, so far, they have been difficult to actually build. Prof. Ashley Montanaro will investigate the path from the theoretical foundations of quantum computing their applications to real-life problems.
