With COP28 underway in the United Arab Emirates, universities and funders face a dilemma over whether and how to investigate stratospheric aerosol injection, a potential last-ditch resort for climate change

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told European Hydrogen Week the scheme will put in a total of €3B to encourage green production methods. That should be a spur for innovation, but the conference heard of concerns about the direction of the EU’s Clean Hydrogen partnership

The nuclear fusion project at ITER will be cut by €120M, while basic science and health and climate R&D get a bigger than expected top up in 2024

The nuclear industry has welcomed European Commission plans for a concerted effort on small modular reactors. A new international consortium plans to demonstrate the technology in Belgium

In a Parliament debate last week, the leadership of ITER gave a fraught assessment of the issues plaguing the international fusion project. Some MEPs are warning the project’s survival is at risk

Industry welcomes declaration of intent to work together on research and stimulate international trade in hydrogen. And the agreement is seen as helping to re-establish research cooperation that was undermined by Brexit

London won’t rejoin the EU’s Euratom programme after missing out on too many big fusion construction contracts. It could find a workaround to stay partially involved in ITER, but that will need agreement of the project’s founding members – including Russia

MEPs believe investment in small modular reactors is needed for Europe to develop a sustainable  low-carbon energy system

$1.4B has been raised and 13 fusion start-ups have launched in the past year globally. But the industry now faces a valley of death as it tries to attract fresh money to build nuclear fusion prototypes

Political decisions this year mean fuels derived from captured CO2 are classed as carbon neutral and now have a future on Europe’s roads. But will it be a highway or a just a byway for the start-ups currently building the e-fuel industry?