SCI's Daily Digest: your one-stop shop for all of the day's news in science based industry

In today's Daily Digest, the European Union's Chip Act has entered into force, investment plans for the role out of clean hydrogen are at risk, and more.

Innovation

A report from the European Patent Office shows that innovation in 3D printing (additive manufacturing) grew eight times faster than the average of all technologies over the last decade. Between 2013 and 2020, international patent families in 3D printing technologies grew at an average annual rate of 26.3%, nearly eight times faster than for all technology fields combined in the same period.

The University of Birmingham is the UK lead for a new £6.2 million Global Centre in Clean Energy and Equitable Transport Solutions. Funded by UKRI, the Centre will focus on reducing emissions from road transport using three UK regions as case studies. Birmingham is joined by Cardiff University as a UK project partner. The University of Illinois will be leading the project in the US.

The European Investment Bank has selected 15 finalists for its Social Innovation Tournament. The finalists are start-ups which are awarded prizes for their social, ethical of environmental impact innovation ideas. The year’s finalists include Aidrolyst by C2Cat which has a developed a breakthrough in enabling green hydrogen Bettaf!sh which has created a product tasting like tuna but made from seaweed.

Energy

According to the International Energy Agency the lag in policy support and rising costs means that investment plans for the role out of clean hydrogen are at risk.

Other News

A report from the Centre for Security and Emerging Technology has mapped out the gain and loss of function research taking place around the world. The research has attracted attention from US policy makers due to what some see as ‘inherent risks of the methodology.’

The European Union’s Chip Act has entered into force. It is designed to boost local production of chip manufacturing. With a global semiconductor production share of less than 10% the bloc is heavily dependent on third-country suppliers.