The digitization of all walks of life is unleashing terrific dynamics. Find out in this issue how Empa helps our society prepare for the future. Read the latest EmpaQuarterly online or download the pdf-version.

For some time now, extremely precious raw materials have been lying dormant in our cities rather than underground. How can we mine them successfully? We could recover indium, neodymium and gold from the piles of domestic e-waste like our discarded smartphones and other gadgets. We could toughen up old buildings with memory steel for new uses. We could produce cartilage implants made of cellulose and insulating materials made of recycled paper for timber houses. We could store summer heat and use it on cold winter’s days. The latest issue of EmpaQuarterly presents some of these resource-saving approaches and the resourceful researchers behind them.