4G networks promise higher data rates and continuous connectivity to multi-standard mobile devices, but at the expense of higher power requirements. Energy is a critical resource for mobile devices, which depend on batteries for power supply. Battery capacity is finite and battery industry is slow, with no promises of any breakthrough in the near future. Therefore, there is a critical necessity for developing new disruptive energy saving techniques, if mobile users are to enjoy the offered advanced applications while roaming freely, in addition to having more environmentally friendly systems. Otherwise mobiles users will relentlessly be searching for power outlets rather than network access, becoming once again bound to a single location. To avoid the so called 4G "Energy Trap", the ICT-C2POWER project addresses the issue of power efficient communication from the user devices through to the core infrastructure of the network and investigates how different entities interact with each other. The C2POWER project will investigate how cognitive and cooperative techniques can be applied for reducing power consumption of wireless mobile devices. The goal of C2POWER is to study, develop and demonstrate energy saving technologies for multi-standard wireless mobile devices, exploiting the combination of cognitive and cooperative techniques. This paper provides an overview of C2POWER project, highlighting its innovative approach, the considered scenarios, and challenges. © 2012 ICST Institute for Computer Science, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.