Assessment of potential bottlenecks along the materials supply chain for the future deployment of low-carbon energy and transport technologies in the EU: Wind power, photovoltaic and electric vehicles technologies, time frame: 2015-2030

The ambitious EU policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in combination with a significant adoption of low-carbon energy and transport technologies will lead to strong growth in the demand for certain raw materials. This report addresses the EU resilience in view of supply of the key materials required for the large deployment of selected low-carbon technologies, namely wind, photovoltaic and electric vehicles. A comprehensive methodology based on various indicators is used to determine the EU’s resilience to supply bottlenecks along the complete supply chain – from raw materials to final components manufacturing. The results revealed that, in 2015, the EU had low resilience to supply bottlenecks for dysprosium, neodymium, praseodymium and graphite, medium resilience to supply of indium, silver, silicon, cobalt and lithium and high resilience to supply of carbon fibre composites. In the worst case scenario where no mitigation measures are adopted, the materials list with supply issues will grow until 2030. Indium, silver, cobalt and lithium will add up to the 2015 list. However, the probability of material supply shortages for these three low-carbon technologies might diminish by 2030 as a result of mitigation measures considered in the present analysis, i.e. increasing the EU raw materials production, adoption of recycling and substitution. In such optimistic conditions, most of the materials investigated are rated as medium or high resilience. The exceptions are neodymium and praseodymium in electric vehicles, for which the EU resilience will remain low.JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio

Energy R&I financing and patenting trends in the EU: Country dashboards 2017 edition

The report monitors the progress made by EU Member States concerning two key indicators identified in the Integrated Strategic Energy Technology Plan Communication, namely the level investment in R&I (by both the public and private sector) and trends in patents. To do so, a collection of country dashboards are presented containing the relevant information, summarised for each EU Member State and SET Plan action, providing a quick overview of each EU Member State within the European framework. The information presented is produced according to the JRC in-house methodology for monitoring R&I in Low Carbon Energy Technologies and is consistent with the R&I indicators included in the 3rd State of the Energy Union Report.JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio

Annual Report 2011 Operation and Utilisation of the High Flux Reactor

The High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten is managed by the Institute for Energy and Transport (IET) of the EC - DG JRC and operated by NRG who are also licence holder and responsible for commercial activities. The HFR operates at 45 MW and is of the tank-in-pool type, light water cooled and moderated. It is one of the most powerful multi-purpose materials testing reactors in the world and one of the world leaders in target irradiation for the production of medical radioisotopes.JRC.F-Institute for Energy and Transport (Petten

Regional performance in the Research, Innovation and Competitiveness Priorities of the Energy Union

The Energy Union is one of the 10 political priorities of the current Commission; and comprises five closely interlinked dimensions, the fifth of which addresses research, innovation and competitiveness (RIC). Trends in patents are among the key performance indicators monitored annually to evaluate the contribution of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) to the objectives of the Energy Union in a quantifiable way, as part of the reporting on the State of the Energy Union. At regional level, the Commission has called on the relevant authorities to develop smart specialisation strategies for research and innovation, encouraging all European regions to identify their areas of competitive advantage, where research and innovation investment under cohesion policy could be prioritised. This document provides an overview of regional performance in the Research, Innovation and Competitiveness Priorities of the Energy Union through maps.JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio

1st TRIMIS Horizon Scanning Session

The Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS) is an open-access transport policy-support tool developed and managed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to support the implementation of the Strategic Transport Research and Innovation Agenda (STRIA). One of the main objectives of TRIMIS is to provide a forward-oriented support to transport research and innovation (R&I) governance by using foresight in its technological and socioeconomic assessment process related to transport R&I. Within the TRIMIS framework, horizon scanning is applied through a structured and systematic collaborative exercise that contributes to the identification of new and emerging transport-related technologies and trends, with a potential future impact on the transport sector. Furthermore, it supports the assessment of current and future research needs and provides transport related insights to the broader European Commission foresight system contributing to a higher-level strategic framework also covering the transport domain. As part of this process, on 26 September 2019 the TRIMIS team, with support from the Unit for Knowledge Management and the EU Policy Lab of the JRC organised a sense making session entitled the 1st TRIMIS Horizon Scanning Session. It aimed at gathering insights from various transport experts with different backgrounds and make sense of previously collected, transport-related horizon scanning items through a process that could provide indications on relevant trends, new drivers of change, weak signals, discontinuities or shocks/’wild cards’/sudden unexpected events/’black swans’. This report collects and analyses the experiences that were shared and discussed during the session along with the supplementary material and initial results. Furthermore, it acts as a first input to the next step of the TRIMIS Horizon Scanning process that will involve policymakers with a focus on transport R&I.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

The Hsp90 chaperone controls the biogenesis of L7Ae RNPs through conserved machinery

RNA-binding proteins of the L7Ae family are at the heart of many essential ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), including box C/D and H/ACA small nucleolar RNPs, U4 small nuclear RNP, telomerase, and messenger RNPs coding for selenoproteins. In this study, we show that Nufip and its yeast homologue Rsa1 are key components of the machinery that assembles these RNPs. We observed that Rsa1 and Nufip bind several L7Ae proteins and tether them to other core proteins in the immature particles. Surprisingly, Rsa1 and Nufip also link assembling RNPs with the AAA + adenosine triphosphatases hRvb1 and hRvb2 and with the Hsp90 chaperone through two conserved adaptors, Tah1/hSpagh and Pih1. Inhibition of Hsp90 in human cells prevents the accumulation of U3, U4, and telomerase RNAs and decreases the levels of newly synthesized hNop58, hNHP2, 15.5K, and SBP2. Thus, Hsp90 may control the folding of these proteins during the formation of new RNPs. This suggests that Hsp90 functions as a master regulator of cell proliferation by allowing simultaneous control of cell signaling and cell growth

Raw materials scoreboard

The raw materials scoreboard is an initiative of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Raw Materials. Its purpose is to provide quantitative data on the EIP's general objectives and on the raw materials policy context. It presents relevant and reliable information that can be used in policymaking in a variety of areas. The scoreboard will, for example, contribute to monitoring progress towards a circular economy, a crucial issue on which the European Commission recently adopted an ambitious action plan. The scoreboard will be published every two years

Assessment of the Methodology for Establishing the EU List of Critical Raw Materials - Annexes

This report presents the results of work carried out by the Directorate General (DG) Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC), in close cooperation with Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW), in the context of the revision of the EC methodology that was used to identify the list of critical raw materials (CRMs) for the EU in 2011 and 2014 (EC 2011, 2014). As a background report, it complements the corresponding Guidelines Document, which contains the “ready-to-apply” methodology for updating the list of CRMs in 2017. This background report highlights the needs for updating the EC criticality methodology, the analysis and the proposals for improvement with related examples, discussion and justifications. However, a few initial remarks are necessary to clarify the context, the objectives of the revision and the approach. As the in-house scientific service of the EC, DG JRC was asked to provide scientific advice to DG GROW in order to assess the current methodology, identify aspects that have to be adapted to better address the needs and expectations of the list of CRMs and ultimately propose an improved and integrated methodology. This work was conducted closely in consultation with the adhoc working group on CRMs, who participated in regular discussions and provided informed expert feedback. The analysis and subsequent revision started from the assumption that the methodology used for the 2011 and 2014 CRMs lists proved to be reliable and robust and, therefore, the JRC mandate was focused on fine-tuning and/or targeted incremental methodological improvements. An in depth re-discussion of fundamentals of criticality assessment and/or major changes to the EC methodology were not within the scope of this work. High priority was given to ensure good comparability with the criticality exercises of 2011 and 2014. The existing methodology was therefore retained, except for specific aspects for which there were policy and/or stakeholder needs on the one hand, or strong scientific reasons for refinement of the methodology on the other. This was partially facilitated through intensive dialogue with DG GROW, the CRM adhoc working group, other key EU and extra-EU stakeholders.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

Methodology for establishing the EU list of critical raw materials - Guidelines

This is a prescriptive document containing the guidelines and the ‘ready-to-apply’ methodology for the EU criticality assessment and the revision of the list of critical raw materials (CRM) for the EU. These synthesised guidelines build on the methodology used to establish the lists of CRM in 2011 and 2014 and integrate the methodological improvements identified by the European Commission in the project ‘Assessment of the methodology on the list of critical raw materials’, in close consultation with the ad hoc working group ‘Defining critical raw materials’. Additional information regarding the methodology, including justification and discussion, can be found in the background report developed by the Directorate General Joint Research Centre (JRC) and in related annexes. These guidelines also contain recommendations on how to reorganise and improve the single fact sheets of the assessed raw material

China: Challenges and Prospects from an Industrial and Innovation Powerhouse

China is rapidly becoming a major industrial competitor in high tech and growth sectors. Its economic success and related industrial policies have received a high degree of attention, especially in light of its capacity to challenge the leading position of advanced economies in several fields. China aims, through the 'Made in China 2025' strategy, to become a world leader in key industrial sectors. In these sectors, it strives to strengthen its domestic innovation capacity, to reduce its reliance on foreign technologies while moving up in global value chains. This report analyses China's approach to attain a dominant position in international markets through a combination of industrial, R&I, trade and foreign direct investment policies. It offers an assessment of China's current position compared to the EU and US innovation systems across a range of dimensions. It concludes that China has become a major industrial competitor in several rapidly expanding high tech sectors, which may well result in attaining China's goal of becoming an innovation leader in specific areas. As a response, the EU will need to boost its industrial and R&I performance and develop a trade policy that can ensure a level playing field for EU companies in China and for Chinese companies in the EU.JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt