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Horizon 2020 Work Programme to kick-start a large-scale research initiative on future battery technologies
The updated Horizon 2020 Work Programme provides €47 million to kick-start the large-scale research initiative on future battery technologies previously announced in the Commission Strategic Action Plan for Batteries.
At the dawn of a new, connected and green era — represented by autonomous vehicles, smart cities, smart grids based on renewable energy sources, drone aircraft and robotic devices — reliable and safe batteries with ultra-high performance are becoming essential.
The Cross Cutting part of the Horizon 2020 Work Programme adopted by the European Commission on 2 July allocates €42 million to kick-start a large-scale research initiative on future battery technologies.
Achieve energy efficiency through better audits thanks to EN 16247-1
In the context of raising energy prices and growing attention to the environment, ensuring energy efficiency is more and more strategic for businesses and consumers, as well as for policy makers. For this reason, energy audits have a relevant role to play: they are an important tool for organizations to enhance their understanding of their current energy use and monitor it going forwards with the goal of reducing energy consumption.
To guide organizations through their energy audits, CEN has developed EN 16247-1 ‘Energy Audits’, with important contributions from influential energy experts including members of the Energy Institute, Institute of Chemical Engineers, and Energy Services and Technology Association, ESTA.
CEN and CENELEC launched a new Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence
Following recent developments in Artificial Intelligence and the challenges identified by the EU Commission creating a need for standardization, the CEN-CENELEC/BTWG 6 “ICT Standardization policy” has proposed the creation of a Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence.
Challenges identified in the European Commission’s Communication ‘Artificial Intelligence for Europe’, COM(2018) 237, refer to the deployment, interoperability, scalability, societal acceptability/ concerns, safety and liability of AI, thus creating a need for standardization. The CEN-CENELEC Focus Group on AI is the starting point to support the identification of specific European Standardization needs. It will also address big data in order to mirror the standardization work at international level.
ETSI issues report on IoT devices for emergency communications
The ETSI Special Committee EMTEL (emergency communications) has released a report, ETSI TR 103 582, studying use cases and communications involving IoT devices in the provision of emergency situations. This report also provides recommendations on standardization requirements that could enhance the safety of these communications.
This report considers communications involving IoT devices in all types of emergency situations, such as emergency calling, mission critical communications, Public Warning System communications and adds a new emergency communications domain identified as automated emergency response, where IoT devices can act after receiving a trigger to prevent hazardous situations.