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Beyond GDP and life expectancy: welfare comparisons across the Atlantic
Get PDFPrior studies assessing welfare across countries have utilised measures that combine country-level outcomes in income and life expectancy (or average lifespan). However, this perspective remains blind to the fact that two countries may have the same life expectancy or average income but very different underlying distributions from which they are derived. In this paper, I introduce a new preference-based measure of social welfare that is sensitive to within-country disparities in lifespan and income. To illustrate the measure, I compare welfare levels/trends between the EU and the USA. The results reveal that while the EU lags behind the USA in terms of average income, the gap is reduced or eliminated when welfare is measured more broadly. Moreover, EU welfare growth rates tend to increase, relative to the income-only case, as more importance is placed on the improvements accruing to the worst-off in society. In contrast, US growth rates are generally lower when its poorer health outcomes and higher levels of inequality are taken into account.JRC.B.1 - Economic and Financial Resilienc
Pipelines for hydrogen transport: A review of integrity and safety challenges
Get PDFThe European Commission highlights hydrogen as an important energy carrier and chemical feedstock that could help decarbonise sectors otherwise deemed hard-to-abate. Europe’s existing natural gas grid is seen as a promising asset to repurpose for the transportation of hydrogen. This technical report provides a literature review of hydrogen's impact on pipeline materials, particularly steel and polymers. Hydrogen is known to reduce the ductility, fracture toughness, and the fatigue crack growth resistance of steel materials commonly found in transmission pipelines. It is also known to permeate through polymeric materials that are often used in the distribution grid. The possible implications for pipeline integrity and safety are reviewed. This report emphasises the need for further experimental research and practical experience combining material science and safety engineering disciplines. Key areas lacking knowledge include the full- or large-scale validation on pipeline sections of small-scale laboratory results, the behaviour of typical pipeline defects, and the long-term performance of polymeric pipeline materials, all under the influence of gaseous hydrogen. The report highlights the essential role of testing facilities such as the High-Pressure Gas Testing Facility (GasTeF) of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in addressing these gaps.JRC.C.1 - Battery and Hydrogen Technologie
Learning from the real-world: Insights on light-vehicle efficiency and CO2 emissions from long-term on-board fuel and energy consumption data collection
No full textThis study explores the potential of On-Board Fuel and energy Consumption Monitoring (OBFCM) and telemetry to bridge the knowledge gap in real-world vehicle usage and fuel/energy consumption. Driving data from 50 light-duty vehicles with different technologies was collected over-the-air through OBD dongles and analysed (data is made available online), highlighting elements of vehicles real-world operation complementing the official OBFCM datasets. Fuel and energy consumption metrics are presented for the vehicle technologies captured, together with an analysis of the real-world factors affecting them. Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs) and Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEVs) are mostly affected by urban driving, with a fuel increase of up to +1.20 l/100 km. Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) are mostly affected by motorway driving, with an increase of +1.26 and +3.85 l/100 km respectively. Extreme ambient temperatures affect ICEVs and MHEVs (up to +1 l/100 km) less than HEVs and PHEVs (+1.5 l/100 km and more). Distance statistics are also analysed in terms of daily driven distance distribution, total annual distance and shares between different driving conditions (urban, rural and motorway). PHEVs charge sustaining and pure electric driving consumption are presented together with details on the charging events. Real-world hints on the utility factor concept are discussed. Our PHEVs corporate users consume more compared to private users because of lower charging applied. The findings highlight how OBFCM provides accurate real-world data, crucial for accelerating greenhouse gas emissions reduction and energy consumption improvements.JRC.C.4 - Sustainable, Smart and Safe Mobilit
The use of artificial neural networks for the unfolding procedures in neutron activation measurements
No full textThe MAXED and GRAVEL unfolding algorithms have been used to determine cross-sections, with the NAXSUN method developed at JRC-Geel. This study explores the potential of a particular type of artificial neural network, the multilayer perceptron (MLP), as an alternative to traditional unfolding algorithms. By generating a training dataset using the TALYS 2.0 code and testing the MLP model on real experimental data, we compared the effectiveness of MLP in unfolding neutron-induced reactions cross sections involving indium and rhenium isotopes. The results were benchmarked against those obtained using standard unfolding algorithms and TALYS 2.0 simulations, demonstrating the advantages and limitations of theANNapproach. The obtained results show amuch-reduced corridor of uncertainty in the derived cross-section curves compared to previous work using traditional unfolding techniques.JRC.G.II.6 - Nuclear Data and Measurement Standard
Certification of plasmid DNA copy number concentrations bearing a ruminant-specific DNA fragment in three buffered solutions: ERM®-AD482ka, ERM®-AD482kb, ERM®-AD482kc
Get PDFERM®-AD482k is a set of three certified reference materials (CRMs) produced within the scope of ISO 17034:2016 [1] accreditation.
The European Union Reference Laboratory for Animal proteins in feedingstuffs (EURL-AP) inserted a specific sequence for ruminant identification into the pUC18 plasmid and cloned it into E. coli. The plasmid was multiplied, purified, linearised, quantified by UV spectrophotometry, sequenced by Sanger sequencing, and then gravimetrically diluted to three target concentrations, with copy numbers certified by digital PCR. The CRM is available as a set of three polypropylene vials containing at least 1 mL of solution at one of the three copy number concentrations.
Between-unit homogeneity was quantified and stability during transport and storage was assessed in accordance with ISO 33405:2024 [2].
The material was characterised by an interlaboratory comparison of laboratories of demonstrated competence and adhering to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 [3]. Technically invalid results were removed but no outlier was eliminated unless a technical reason for the deviation was found.
Uncertainties of the certified values include uncertainties related to possible inhomogeneity, instability and characterisation.
The material is intended to be used in quantitative PCR (qPCR), for the determination of the cut-off value differentiating positive samples (containing the ruminant target sequence) from negative samples.
Before release of the set of the three CRMs, the certification project was subjected to peer-review involving both internal and external experts.JRC.F.6 - Reference Material
Revisiting the soil carbon saturation concept to inform a risk index in European agricultural soils
No full textThe form in which soil organic carbon (SOC) is stored determines its capacity and stability, commonly described by separating bulk SOC into its particulate- (POC) and mineral-associated (MAOC) constituents. MAOC is more persistent, but the association with mineral surfaces imposes a maximum MAOC capacity for a given fine fraction content. Here, we leverage SOC fraction data and spectroscopy to investigate POC/MAOC distribution, together with SOC changes data over 2009–2018 period, across pedo-climatic zones in the European Union and the UK. We find that rather than a universal mineralogy- dependent maximum MAOC capacity, an emergent effective MAOC capacity can be identified across pedo-climatic zones. These findings led us to propose the SOC risk index, combining SOC changes and effective MAOC capacity. We find that between 43 and 83 Mha of agricultural soils are classified as high risk, mostly constrained to cool and humid regions. The index provides a synthetic information to decision makers for preserving and accruing POC and MAOC.JRC.D.3 - Land Resources and Supply Chain Assessment
The HTAP_v3.2 emission mosaic: merging regional and global monthly emissions (2000–2020) to support air quality modelling and policies
No full textThis study, performed under the umbrella of the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF-HTAP), responds to the need of the global and regional atmospheric modelling community of having a mosaic emission inventory of air pollutants that conforms to specific requirements: global coverage, long time series, spatially distributed emissions with high time resolution, and a high sectoral resolution. The mosaic approach of integrating official regional emission inventories based on locally reported data, with a global inventory based on a globally consistent methodology, allows modellers to perform simulations of a high scientific quality while also ensuring that the results remain relevant to policymakers.
HTAP_v3.2, an ad-hoc global mosaic of anthropogenic inventories, is an update to the HTAP_v3 global mosaic inventory and has been developed by integrating official inventories over specific areas (North America, Europe, Asia including China, Japan and Korea) with the independent Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) inventory for the remaining world regions. The results are spatially and temporally distributed emissions of SO2, NOx, CO, NMVOC, NH3, PM10, PM2.5, Black Carbon (BC), and Organic Carbon (OC), with a spatial resolution of 0.1 × 0.1° and time intervals of months and years covering the period 2000–2020 (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17086684, Crippa, 2025, https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset_htap_v32, last access: 27 October 2025). The emissions are further disaggregated to 16 anthropogenic emitting sectors. This paper describes the methodology applied to develop such an emission mosaic, reports on source allocation, differences among existing inventories, and best practices for the mosaic compilation. One of the key strengths of the HTAP_v3.2 emission mosaic is its temporal coverage, enabling the analysis of emission trends over the past two decades. The development of a global emission mosaic over such long time series represents a unique product for global air quality modelling and for better-informed policy making, reflecting the community effort expended by the TF-HTAP to disentangle the complexity of transboundary transport of air pollution.JRC.C.5 - Clean Air and Climat
Clean Energy Technology Observatory: Electricity Grids in the European Union - 2025 Status Report on Technology Development, Trends, Value Chains and Markets
Get PDFThis annual CETO report provides an overview of key technological trends and market developments affecting the electricity grid. Recognizing the critical role of grid infrastructure in the ongoing energy transition and the substantial investments needed for its expansion and modernization, the report focuses on three core technological areas. It provides an update of the 2023 CETO analysis on High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technologies, with a specific focus on HVDC converters, breakers and cables. In addition, building up on last year’s assessment of AC wires and cables, it analyses switchgears, another fundamental physical asset of the grid. Finally, the report analyses gridenhancing technologies and their potential to increase grid efficiency and reduce future investment needs.JRC.C.3 - Energy Security, Distribution and Market
Defining decision thresholds for judgments on health benefits and harms using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks: a randomised methodological study (GRADE-THRESHOLD)
No full textIntroduction:
GRADE and other Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks are widely used by guideline development groups (GDG) and other decision-makers. When GDGs judge the magnitude of desirable and undesirable health outcomes on EtDs, they typically categorize them as trivial, small, moderate or large. However, generic judgment or decision thresholds (DTs) that could guide the user about such estimates of effect size or serve as references for interpretation of findings are not yet available. The objective of this study was to empirically derive DTs for EtD judgments about the magnitude of dichotomously assessed health benefits and harms.
Methods:
We conducted a methodological randomised controlled trial to derive empirical DTs across conditions and health outcomes. We invited stakeholders including clinicians, epidemiologists, decision scientists, health research methodologists, experts in Health Technology Assessment (HTA), members of GDGs, patient representatives, and the public to participate in the trial. We employed randomly assigned case scenarios to elicit ranges of absolute risk differences (ARD) judged as small and moderate effects from study participants. We then used the collected data to derive empirical decision thresholds. We also investigated the validity of our DTs by measuring the agreement between judgments that were made by GDGs in the past and the judgments that our DTs approach would suggest if applied to the same guideline data.
Results:
A total of 445 stakeholders accessed the survey of which 409 were randomised and 288 rated at least one case scenario. Based on these participants, the study findings support our a priori hypothesis of a difference in the DTs for trivial, small, moderate, and large effects and are suggestive of a relation between raters' judgments and the joint measure of absolute effects and outcome values. The results permit the use and calculation of DTs for a variety of scenarios and we present three ways of how to use the results practically.
Conclusions:
In this trial we confirmed that empirically derived DTs discriminate between judgments on the EtDs. These DTs can be used for judgments about desirable and undesirable health effects in systematic reviews or to initiate and inform a discussion with a GDG. This ensures consistency in judgments across different guideline questions and promotes transparency in judgments.
Funding source:
McMaster GRADE Centre.
Keywords:
clinical practice guidelines, health outcomes, decision-making, clinical, evidence-to-decision frameworks, health recommendations, GRADE
Trial registration:
This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05237635) on February 14, 2022.JRC.F.1 - Disease Preventio
Scientific frontiers of agrivoltaic cropping systems
No full textAgrivoltaic (AV) systems integrate agriculture with electricity conversion through photovoltaic (PV) modules. Compared with conventional ground-mounted PV systems, AV systems can reduce land-use competition and offer agronomic and economic advantages, such as more stable crop production and additional farm income. However, AV systems can decrease agricultural performance and are typically 20–90% costlier to install than conventional PV systems. In this Review, we analyse the implementation of AV cropping systems to preserve agricultural activities and highlight challenges and barriers. The global electricity potential of AV systems is ~66–385 PWh annually, depending on PV technology and installation density, if deployed in the most suitable areas, without accounting for grid availability. Scaling up has been hindered by crop selection for shading conditions, decreased energy conversion per unit of land area and issues with social acceptance, landscape impact and environmental sustainability. These issues can be addressed by developments such as wavelength-selective PV; system configurations, such as optimizing module spacing to reduce shading; and operational methods, such as optimizing tracking strategies and integrating agricultural infrastructure. Cross-sector policies can support AV systems by addressing the needs of diverse stakeholders over shared land resources. Further development will require collaboration among the design, performance, deployment and systems research communities.JRC.C.2 - Energy Efficiency and Renewable