European Innovation Research Articles

Museums in Action: How Museums are redefining their Role in European Projects

An innovative and detailed analysis of the role of museums in European Union-funded projects is presented in this article, based on a thorough search of the European CORDIS database. The study explores how museums have transformed from being passive custodians of cultural heritage to becoming dynamic and multifunctional actors in European research and innovation. Through a systematic analysis of European projects funded in the 2007-2022 period, the article highlights the growing participation of museums in various EU programs, the varied roles they assume-from beneficiary partners to associate collaborators-and their impact in key areas such as education, research, digitization and technological innovation. This research provides both quantitative and qualitative insights into museums' involvement in shaping European cultural identity and policy development. The paper is of particular interest to policy makers, museum professionals and cultural heritage researchers, offering a unique perspective on the evolving role of museums in the European context and future opportunities for collaboration and funding.

New challenges in European innovation partnerships: SOEs, POEs and foreign MNEs during crises

AbstractCooperation for innovation, not only enhances the innovative and economic performance of companies but also fosters growth and strengthens the resilience of firms in the realm of innovation activities. In this study, we delve into the cooperative activities of innovative Spanish companies with their European counterparts. We employ six logit models using panel data to scrutinize the impact of ownership on innovation cooperation and the determinants of collaboration across different phases of the business cycle, spanning from 2004 to 2016, which we divide into three sub-periods: the pre-crisis (2004–2007), the crisis (2008–2013), and the recovery (2014–2016). Throughout the businesses cycle, state-owned enterprises are the most prone to engage in cooperative innovation with European partners, while unaffiliated domestic firms are the least prone. Foreign subsidiaries clearly outperform unaffiliated domestic firms and slightly outperform domestic business groups in prosperous times, but do not outperform state-owned enterprises even during crises. The drivers of cooperation for innovation with European partners evolve over time, becoming particularly challenging during crises. The factors influencing cooperation with European universities exhibit distinct characteristics. The results contain policy and management implications.

From Chinggisid to Modern State: Geopolitics and Sovereignty in Central Eurasia during the 17th and 18th Centuries

The decline of the Mongol Empire and its successor states led to anarchy in Central Eurasia from the 16th to the 18th centuries. This era saw the fall of the Timurids and the Ming Dynasty and the rise of new regional powers, including the Kazakhs and Zunggars in Central Asia. Externally, the Manchus, and Russia began influencing Central Asian geopolitics. Meanwhile, significant political, cultural, and scientific developments were taking place in Europe, alongside the rise of colonialism. Although these trends in Europe began to affect Central Asia, the regional powers of the time focused more on European technological innovations than on ideas of sovereignty and statehood. With the acceleration of political and culturalinteractions between the East and the West, mapping and related innovations reached Central Asia and soon became symbols of political hegemony. This strategy, adopted by China’s Ming and Manchu Qing dynasties and Russia, was efficiently utilized in the struggle for dominance in Central Asia. This article examines the last attempts of the regional Kazakh and Zunggar polities as independent states to become the hegemon power in the region within the framework of the role of mapping in Russian and Manchu colonial advances, which has not been sufficiently studied yet. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this study employs historical methodologies, as well as international relations terminologies and theoretical frameworks.

Haemodiafiltration versus haemodialysis for kidney failure: an individual patient data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

High-dose haemodiafiltration has been shown, in a randomised clinical trial, to result in a 23% lower risk of mortality for patients with kidney failure when compared with conventional high-flux haemodialysis. Nevertheless, whether treatment effects differ across subgroups, whether a dose-response relationship with convection volume exists, and the effects on cause-specific mortality remain unclear. The aim of this individual patient data meta-analysis was to compare the effects of haemodiafiltration and standard haemodialysis on all-cause and cause-specific mortality. On July 17, 2024, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomised controlled trials, published from database inception, comparing online haemodiafiltration versus haemodialysis designed to measure mortality outcomes. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Hazard ratios were generated using Cox proportional hazards regression models reporting hazard ratios and 95% CIs. Subgroup analyses based on predefined patient characteristics and dose-response analyses using natural splines for convection volume were performed. This analysis is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024511514). Five trials (n=4153 patients; 2070 receiving haemodialysis and 2083 receiving haemodiafiltration) were eligible for inclusion in this analysis. After a median follow-up of 30 months (IQR 24-36), all-cause mortality occurred in 477 patients (23·3%) treated with haemodiafiltration compared with in 559 patients (27·0%) treated with haemodialysis (hazard ratio 0·84 [95% CI 0·74-0·95]). No evidence of a differential effect across subgroups was noted. A graded relationship between convection volume and mortality risk was apparent: as the volume increased, the mortality risk decreased. Compared with haemodialysis, online haemodiafiltration reduces all-cause mortality in people with kidney failure. Results do not differ across patient and treatment characteristics and the risk reduction appears to be dose-dependent. In conclusion, the present analysis strengthens the notion that haemodiafiltration can be considered as a superior alternative to the present standard (ie, haemodialysis). European Commission Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020.

Tailoring Entrepreneurial Education: Demand-Driven Insights for an Entrepreneurial Online Mentoring Program

The 2023 European Innovation Scoreboard reveals that there is an innovation asymmetry between different European Union (EU) regions, which is leading to an innovation gap. In particular, southern and eastern EU countries showcase a lower level of innovation compared to their northern and western counterparts. To tackle this issue, the ENTRPRENEDU project, funded by the European Union, endeavors to bridge the innovation and educational divide across EU regions through a scalable "Venture Building Program". At its core lies the precisely crafted ENTREPRENEDU mentoring program, which aims to nurture 12, through hackathons selected, teams from the emerging to moderate-innovation countries Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria. This paper presents the methodological framework, execution, and results of the demand analysis underpinning the development of the ENTRPRENEDU online mentoring program. Employing a qualitative research design for the demand analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted to delve into the nuanced needs and experiences of the participating teams. These hour-long sessions followed a pre-defined guideline and aimed to determine the specific entrepreneurial needs of the participating teams. For the analysis of interview data, a thematic approach was utilized revealing clusters of predominant demands among the teams, serving as the cornerstone for deriving six overarching mentoring modules. These modules were tailored to address the identified demands and laid the foundation for the program's curriculum development. Each mentoring module was crafted to align with the specific learning objectives of the teams, ensuring targeted guidance tailored to their unique journey. This paper highlights the symbiotic relationship between the identified demands of the teams and the structured mentoring curriculum, underscoring its significance in providing tailored support conducive to their success. The findings not only contribute to the academic discourse on mentoring program development but also hold practical implications for policymakers, educators, and entrepreneurs striving to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in their respective contexts.

The Entrepreneurial Impact of the European Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence

The European Commission’s Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, adopted in 2022 and approved in 2024, mandates that companies identify, prevent, and mitigate hostile human rights and environmental impacts across their operations and supply chains, integrating sustainability into corporate governance. This article examines the directive’s influence on European entrepreneurial activity, ecosystems, and innovation using a qualitative descriptive literature analysis, comparative frameworks, impact assessments, policy recommendations, and case studies. Findings suggest that while the directive imposes compliance challenges and costs, particularly for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises, it offers significant long-term benefits, such as improved risk management, enhanced reputation, and market differentiation. The directive promotes accountability and ethical practices, harmonizing due diligence across the EU and fostering a culture of sustainability. It concludes that companies addressing these impacts can gain a competitive edge and attract sustainability-focused investors, necessitating support mechanisms for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises to mitigate burdens and encourage compliance.

Innovativeness of the European economies in the context of the modified European Innovation Scoreboard

Research background: Innovation is an important determinant of economic development, and its importance is growing with the advancement of digitization and the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In turn, the assessment of the innovativeness of a country’s economy affects its investment attractiveness and international image. Purpose of this study: Given the factors presented above, the main aim of this study is to explore and compare the innovativeness of European economies in the context of the modified European Innovation Scoreboard. Methods: To achieve this goal, the authors propose two key modifications of the existing innovation assessment methodology contained in the European Innovation Scoreboard. The first concerns the principles of the normalization of assessment indicators and aims to eliminate extreme assessment values. The second proposes to remove the indicators which are difficult to measure, subjective, and not always useful: (1) those related to sustainable development (resource productivity; emissions of fine particulates; and environment-related technologies) and (2) those that take into account only small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs introducing product innovations; SMEs introducing business process innovations; and innovative SMEs collaborating with others). Findings & value added: An alternative approach to assessing the innovativeness of the analyzed countries — as proposed by the authors — resulted in changes in the ranking of countries in relation to the European Innovation Scoreboard, but the changes were not significant. The major changes concerned Serbia (down four places), Belgium (down two places), Hungary (up three places), and Poland (up two places). In addition, five countries moved up one place in the ranking (the UK, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain, and Slovakia), and five lost one place in the ranking (Norway, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and Croatia). Thirteen countries had no changes. The obtained results allowed us to conclude that the countries with the best and the worst innovativeness maintained the assessment level regardless of changes in the methodology of its implementation. The objectification of rules had the strongest impact on the countries in the middle of the ranking. This study draws attention to the problem of the subjectivity of the innovation rankings. It has also been documented that modifying the selection of evaluation criteria may change the final position in the ranking, which, in the case of emerging and developing economies, may affect investor assessment and economic growth opportunities. Such considerations are important because they are outside the often uncritical mainstream approach to the assessment of the innovativeness of economies. The conclusions imply the need for a multisource analysis of innovation and a critical look at the proposed methodologies.

Methods for assessing the innovative potential of a region: a comparative approach

Relevance. The development of the innovative potential of a region has important theoretical, methodological and practical significance. Of particular importance is the methodology for assessing the innovative potential of a region. To form the author's position on this issue, it is necessary to apply a comparative approach to the analysis of existing approaches to assessing the innovative potential of a region. This circumstance allowed us to choose and prove the relevance of the topic of the conducted scientific research.The purpose of the study is to apply a comparative approach to the analysis of methods for assessing the innovative potential of a region.The objectives of the study are formulated in accordance with the stated goal and involve the study of various well-known methodological approaches to assessing the innovative potential of a region, such as the European Innovation Scoreboard, Regional Innovation Scoreboard, Innovation Index, Rating of Innovative Development of Subjects of the Russian Federation of the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.Methodology. The research methodology is based on a comparative approach to the analysis of methods for assessing the innovative potential of a region. Comparative analysis, statistical research, and the cause-and-effect approach form the basis of the study.Results. The results of the study include a comparative analysis of various approaches to the analysis of methods for assessing the innovative potential of a region.Conclusions. Based on the obtained research results, the author's approach to constructing a methodology for assessing the innovative potential of a region will be proposed in the future, taking into account the elements of the studied methods. This study is the initial stage for substantiating the author's vision of assessing the innovative potential of a region.

The European Innovation Council supports innovative portfolios in health biotech.

The European Innovation Council supports innovative portfolios in health biotech.

The Innovativeness of the Economies of European Union Candidate Countries – an Assessment of Their Innovation Gap in Relation to the EU Average

Innovation is nowadays seen as an essential success factor in achieving economic prosperity and competing in markets. It is one of the most important determinants of the competitive process throughout the world, helping economies catch up with developing and changing technologies while revealing those countries’ innovation perspectives. The article assesses the innovativeness of the economies of selected European Union (EU) candidate countries based on the Summary Innovation Index (SII). It also estimates the innovation gap between these countries and the EU average of the SII between 2015 and 2022. The analysis is limited to Türkiye, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ukraine due to the availability of data that describes the SII. It provided for all the countries surveyed in the European Innovation Scoreboards, i.e., the reports of the European Commission, only from 2015. The presented analysis is based on a research hypothesis that suggests that the surveyed countries are characterized by a lower level of innovativeness of economies than the EU average, and therefore, they show an innovation gap compared to the average for EU countries in the analyzed period. The results of the analysis confirm this hypothesis – between 2015 and 2022, the economies of all the examined candidate countries recorded a lower level of innovativeness than the EU average. They showed a lower level of the SII than the EU average, and therefore, all these countries demonstrated an innovation gap compared to the EU average. Recommendations for increasing the innovativeness of those economies are formulated separately in the conclusions. The article reviews the literature on the innovation and innovativeness of economies and the innovation gap. Descriptive analysis, statistical data analysis, and comparative analysis methods are applied, and statistical data from the European Innovation Scoreboard 2022 are used. The value added of the article lies in its comparison of the level of innovativeness of the economies of selected EU candidate countries to the EU average, as well as its estimation of the innovation gap between these countries and the EU average.

Territorial Patterns of European Innovation in the Context of Different Innovation Output Proxies: A Spatial MGWR-SAR Approach

AbstractThe paper seeks to explore the drivers of European innovation represented by three innovation outputs (patent, trademark, and design applications), emphasizing spatial autocorrelation and heterogeneity. It includes data from 202 regions from 22 European Union (EU) Member States, along with 18 regions from Switzerland, Norway, and Serbia in 2019, providing a more comprehensive geographic scope. By considering multiple indicators of innovation output, including patents, trademarks, and design applications, the main objective is to examine spatial innovation spillovers and the heterogeneous responses of regional innovation output to innovation inputs in the context of European regions. To achieve this goal, the main instrument of the analysis is a newly proposed methodological framework called Mixed Geographically Weighted Regression-Spatial Autoregressive (MGWR-SAR) models. The analysis suggests that while all innovation inputs (most-cited publications, research and development expenditure in the business sector, human resources in science and technology, and population density) are justified in increasing all innovation outputs, the strength of particular determinants of innovation might vary across regions. Moreover, the analysis reveals valuable insights into how spatial spillovers influence regional innovation. The impact of spatial connections varies across the regions, with patents showing the strongest linkages, affecting about 92.27% of regions. Although trademarks and designs have fewer spatial connections (approximately 50% of regions), they still play a significant role in innovation. Although patents have traditionally dominated discussions of innovation, the findings reveal the importance of incorporating designs and trademarks as complementary indicators. Overall, the study highlights the need for multiple metrics to comprehensively evaluate innovations.

Business Research and Development: Is there a Substitution Effect of Public Support?

The importance of research and development is reflected in the fact that one of the main priorities of the EU's development policies is increasing spending on research and development in EU member states (EC, 2010). Enterprises do not always have enough internal financial resources to launch their own innovation projects, and therefore they turn to external resource providers (Wang et al., 2016). The paper is aimed at examining the impact of corporate expenditures on R&D from the point of view of their funding sources and analysing the occurrence of the substitution effect of public support for R&D in EU 27 countries. These countries also have the highest level of public financing of research and development, that is, they use the public support of business innovations to the highest extent. The analysis showed that in the EU 27, the substitution effect of public support for research and development is not significant, or rather the complementarity of both types of expenditure prevails at the national level, as public funding of corporate research and development seems to have a positive effect on private research and development and investments. Our analysis is based on available secondary data for 27 EU member states. for a twenty-year observation period (2000-2020). The results have been achieved by using a methodology that includes cluster analysis, panel regression and correlation analysis. We bring new empirical evidence on the relationships between public support and business research and development expenditures. The research results showed the main sources of funding for corporate research and development. It concerns the business enterprises, government and abroad. The cluster analysis determined three clusters, divided according to the structure of the financing of R&D enterprises in EU countries. The results of the cluster analysis were partially in line with the current results of the European Innovation Review. Our findings provide policy implications for the public support policy.

Empowering Future Entrepreneurs: Developing an Online Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program Across Diverse EU Regions

The 2023 European Innovation Scoreboard reveals that there is an innovation asymmetry between different EU regions which is leading to an innovation gap. In particular southern and eastern EU countries showcase a lower level of innovation compared to their northern and western counterparts. Addressing this disparity, the ENTRPRENEDU project, funded by the European Union, pioneers a unique approach tailored for emerging and moderate innovation regions. This paper presents the development process of the curriculum for the ENTRPRENEDU online mentoring program, detailing the demand analysis, curriculum development, and implementation phases. This paper contributes to the discourse on entrepreneurial online education and mentoring program development by showcasing a tailored approach to curriculum design. The findings offer practical insights for educators, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to nurture entrepreneurship and innovation in diverse regional contexts.

A Regulatory‐Developmental Turn Within EU Industrial Policy? The Case of the Battery IPCEIs

The European automotive industry is transitioning from combustion engines to electric vehicles but lags behind international competitors. This geoeconomic competition has contributed to the revival of industrial policy in the EU. However, EU competition policy restricts more vertical industrial policy approaches. In this context, the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) have emerged as a novel governance tool. This article examines this transformation in EU industrial policy by focusing on the Battery IPCEIs. The article includes an in-depth case study of the Battery IPCEIs, using secondary literature and 11 expert interviews. It concludes that IPCEIs represent a gradual regulatory-developmental turn within EU industrial policy by drawing on developmental state theory in a European context, critical EU integration literature, and global production networks research. In response to geoeconomic competition and the region’s lack of productive capacities, the EU is indirectly facilitating the development of European battery innovation and production networks by issuing direct state aid at the national level. However, the EU’s participation in the subsidy race and the global green-tech race via “green” industrial policy indicates only a partial shift in the relationship between states and markets.

Social innovation for sustainable and equitable transport: the case of Commons Cargo Bikes

Socially innovative civil society initiatives are seen as promising to address societal and environmental problems such as those encountered in the transport sector. However, many social innovators struggle when it comes to growth and achieving broader system-level impact. These problems are often ascribed to challenges associated with organizational structures. This paper investigates the scaling process and organizational development of a European social innovation in the transport sector, Commons Cargo Bikes. Empirically, the study primarily builds on two quantitative surveys with initiatives and users as well as qualitative interviews with spokespersons of an overarching network. The results indicate that social innovations can provide important complements to technological and market-based innovations by providing alternative solutions that reach geographical regions and users not typically addressed by traditional services. Furthermore, the study highlights that rather formal structures can be necessary for successful social innovation networks at a certain point. As the present case study indicates, tensions associated with organizational changes might, however, be anticipated and addressed proactively by combining different organizational archetypes in one structure.

The right fit: Acceptance of nature-based solutions across European cities

European cities consistently seek to improve urban environments for their residents, yet often struggle to find solutions to address urban issues while engaging citizens. The European Union funds research and innovation projects proposing nature-based solutions to address climate change, biodiversity, human health and wellbeing in cities under the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programs. The presented research from the project UPSURGE is based on a survey of 5,990 urban residents in 6 European countries. The study focuses on the planning phase of nature-based solutions in cities, in which trade-offs have to be made between different options, such as the design, effectiveness, financial contributions from residents or participatory options. Based on an innovative survey including a choice experiment, the aim is to assist public participation processes in various countries, help planning teams define priorities and design governance measures which ensure long-term dedication to development plans. The results reflect respective exposure to climate change across the continent; such as Greek respondents being more affected by high temperatures compared to those from the United Kingdom. However, the study also revealed different preferences in regard to a participatory planning process, willingness to pay and importance of biodiversity.

Innovative Approaches Supporting Social Change, Improved Quality of Human Life, and Enhanced Planetary Consciousness Across Europe

This research uses a dialogical approach to the theory of social representations to investigate examples of social innovation in volunteer and community projects across Europe. Social representational processes shape public agendas and determine which issues are put forward. One example of this dynamic communicative exchange is the annual Social Innovation Competition of the European Innovation Council, for which an award is given each year. The study looks at a total of 36 projects that won awards over 10 years of the competition in Europe. Our archival research focuses on and discusses the co-construction of the meaning of innovation in relation to ecology. The analysis concentrates on the countries of origin of the projects, as well as the thematic areas, in relation to the themes of social innovation selected by the European Innovation Council. In this process, three crucial voices are examined, including the voice of the European Innovation Council, voice of the innovator in each award-winning project, and voice of the general public. The results indicate that members of volunteer and community sectors propose socially innovative initiatives, especially in the areas of enhancing planetary consciousness and improving the quality of human life.

Maturity quantification and evaluation of R&I needs of the smart grid

The European Technology and Innovation Platform Smart Networks for Energy Transition (ETIP SNET) roadmap has proposed the development of a set of high-level use cases serving the Power Grids of the future as a decisive need calling for research, small to large-scale demonstrations and deployment of services and products leading to replication and scaling-up to realize real-world implementation. R&I Projects orchestrate these developments and thus the evolution of technologies, solutions and systems are their valuable deliverable that respond to calls for contribution. As such in this publication we use this linking chain of evolution to develop a sound methodology starting from the evaluation of project results and leading to sound quantification of research needs. Specifically, by keeping track of technologies / solutions / systems advancement, the quantification of the maturity of high-level use cases can be induced following a universal approach and thus the whole smart grid system readiness can be evaluated as a valuable input to gap analysis and identification of R&I needs enabling appropriate policy decisions.

Disentangling the Ligand and Electronic Structure in KVPO4F1-XOx Positive Electrode Materials by Valence-to-Core X-Ray Emission Spectroscopy

Among all positive electrode materials for K-ion batteries (KIBs), KVPO4F offers a high theoretical capacity of 131 mAh·g-1 and an average working potential reaching above 4.3 V vs K+/K, resulting in a theoretical energy density of up to 520 Wh·kg-1. [1] The anionic substitution of fluorine by oxygen in KVPO4F1-xOx (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) induces an increasing working potential by activating the V3+/4+ and V4+/5+ redox couples and replacing the VO4F2 “ionic” entity by {V=O}O5 unit with a highly “covalent” vanadyl-type bond. [2] The accurate prediction of the electrode potential as well as the understanding of the mechanisms involved upon cycling requires the determination of how the coordination environment of the transition metal ion influences the ionicity/covalency of the metal-ligand bonds and thus the electronic structure. Nevertheless, discriminating these ligands remains a challenge due to the limited sensitivity to light elements of common characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction and extended X-ray absorption fine structure. Despite the valuable information from these techniques, fundamental concerns still need to be addressed which include: i) the implication of the covalent V=O vanadyl bond in the electronic structure; ii) the difference of Vcis and Vtrans, the two different sites for V, in the electronic configuration of the material; and finally, (iii) the impact of F/O ligands on the electrochemical mechanism upon battery cycling.To address this issue, we employed valence-to-core Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy (VtC XES) combined with ab initio modelling and conducted a systematic investigation of KVPO4F1-xOx: two distinct regions were identified in the spectra, Kβ" and Kβ2,5, which are critical to probe the electronic structure close to the Fermi level and to discriminate different ligands coordinated with the vanadium atoms. [3] Our approach allows distinguishing in KVPO4F1-xOx the contributions of V-F, V-O, and V=O bonds, with intensities at the Kβ" region highly correlated to the F- and O2- anionic composition. Additionally, the evolution of the features at the Kβ2,5 region is highly associated to the presence of short V=O bonds, strongly influencing the electrode potential of the material.Overall, we present a detailed and reliable approach for understanding the occupied electronic states of the electrode material, proving valuable for a thorough comprehension of the structural and redox mechanisms involved in batteries.AcknowledgementThis work was supported by the DESTINY Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions COFUND PhD Programme (Grant Agreement #945357) co-funded by the European Union's Horizon2020 research and innovation program and the Synchrotron SOLEIL. ANR is also acknowledged for funding the RS2E network through the STORE-EX Labex Project ANR-10-LABX-76-01, and the ANR TROPIC project ANR-CE05-0026. Alistore-ERI network is also acknowledged.

(Invited) Low Temperature Plasma Synthesis and Functionalisation of Carbon Nanostructures for Energy Conversion and Storage

Low-temperature plasmas are nowadays widely developed and used for synthesis and functionalization of various materials with applications in areas ranging from microelectronics and aeronautical industry to energy conversion and storage. The focus of the research and applications has lately shifted towards carbon and carbon-based materials synthesis. The materials of interest vary from nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanowalls, free standing graphene flakes, vertical graphene rods, sponge structures, nanostructured surfaces, to composites (with conductive or non-conductive polymers, or MoS2, to mention some of the examples that will be presented herein). The interest for direct applications of plasma processes as well as nanostructures in the field of energy conversion and storage has been present since a long time. Recently, however, several interesting fundamental breakthroughs have been observed in terms of better control of processes, diagnostics and several other benefits that are attracting more and more attention: lower temperatures of surfaces needed for synthesis and functionalization (due to active plasma species interacting with surfaces), dry processes (diluted precurors or liquid monomers introduced in processes, without use of solvents), decreased overall pollution, fast processes, to mention just some of the advantages. However, our work must not forget the disadvantages and problems that can occur during application tests, such as stability, adhesion, loss of conductivity, reproducibility, general ageing or recyclability.Different factors can affect the function of the final setup (from photocatalytic elements, to batteries or fuel cells/HER systems, in our case) – from production of the starting materials to the assembly. Therefore, careful synthesis and control of the process (including the chamber and surface conditions for example) is necessary. We present herein several examples of carbon materials developed or in development (as mentioned 1D-3D carbons, carbon in organic and inorganic composits, mesoporous carbons). These materials were synthesized at surface temperatures between room temperature and up to 550°C.We emphasize, for example, the importance of in-situ control of processes, the importance of precise process conditions, the control of the synthesized materials with regard to their electrical conductivity, adhesion, thermal stability or sensitivity to photon irradiation.Acknowledgments:Authors acknowledge the EU Graphene Flagship FLAG-ERA III JTC 2021 project VEGA (PR-11938) and the project PEGASUS (funded by the European Union's Horizon research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 766894. UC and NMS acknowledge the Slovenian Research Agency for the program ARRS No. P1-0417 and project Z2-4467. TS, EK and JB want to thank HZB for the allocation of synchrotron radiation beamtime at the HE-SGM beamline of BESSY II. Thanks goes also to Prof. Wöll from KIT for providing the HE-SGM endstation used for the XPS and NEXAFS measurements. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730872 (Nr. 18207084-ST and 18207393- ST). EK and JB acknowledge also support obtained via ARD MATEX Region Centre.