European researchers are working to develop new microprocessors that use up to 90% less energy than the chips currently in use, Energy and Environmental Management Magazine reported. According to the report, an EU-funded project dubbed "EuroCloud," has adapted the low-power microprocessors used in mobile phones to work on a larger scale. Researchers say that move could potentially save companies using cloud computing technology in their data centers billions of euros. The EuroCloud server project is headed by a team of researchers from the UK, Cyprus, Finland, Switzerland and Belgium with companied like Nokia, ARM and IMEC taking part in the development efforts, as well. The European Union has offered the project €3.3 million in annual funding, across three years, so far. Researchers said that the new chips "will cost just 10% of the price of presently-used processors as well as consuming 1/10 of the energy." The "3D Server-on-a-Chip," will enable the greening of European data centers, they added. Furthermore, researchers believe that "Hundreds of microprocessor cores may then be embedded in a single server, making data centers containing one million cores feasible in the future." "Today's power-hungry cloud data centers are not sustainable in the long run," European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes said. "The Eurocloud chip addresses the core of this energy consumption problem. I hope further development of the Eurocloud chip will boost the position of European businesses in a sector currently dominated by non-Europeans." The EU also plans to form a panel to review whether there is a need to regulate the entire sector to improve its environmental performance. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter