European deeptech secures significant capital, while EU member states navigate fiscal pressures on green transitions and new border control systems cause concern.

Welcome to HEU Pulse. Today, we're examining significant capital for European deep tech alongside fiscal pressures on green transitions and new border control system concerns across the EU. Indeed, and our number of the day, $4.5 million, directly relates to that deep tech investment. It's the pre-seed funding for Swiss photonics startup Alight. Alight is advancing chip scale multi-wavelength laser technology crucial for optical interconnects, isn't it? This investment underscores venture capital interest in European innovation. Absolutely. Co-led by Elia and Swiss E, this funding supports technology vital for data communication and processing capabilities, building on projects like new photonics and Athens. Turning now to EU carbon policy, Germany plans to divert $5.4 billion from its emissions trading scheme revenues. These funds were previously earmarked for green transition projects. Berlin is reallocating these substantial funds to pension financing instead, as reported by Euractiv. This move signals a significant shift in national fiscal priorities, potentially impacting climate targets. Critics argue this could undermine efforts to accelerate the green transition, especially as the EU prepares for broader carbon pricing reforms. It certainly represents a departure from the established practice of directing half of Germany's ETS revenues towards environmental initiatives. Meanwhile, the aviation industry is warning of extensive delays with the new EU entry charge exit system, projecting wait times of up to five hours at borders. The European Commission has vowed further support, but industry stakeholders fear the increased data collection for non-EU citizens could overwhelm airports, causing widespread disruption during peak travel. And finally, a look at energy security, where the conflict continues to impact Russian refining capacity, causing significant fuel shortages. More than 40% of Russia's refining capacity has reportedly been destroyed, leading to queues for petrol. This highlights severe vulnerabilities in critical energy systems and market stability. Such large-scale infrastructure damage points to broader challenges in maintaining resilient energy systems, a concern for European research initiatives like the SHIELD project. Thank you for joining us on HEU Pulse. For more details on these stories, including specific project references, visit today's edition at heu.eu.