Buildings and Cities

Buildings and cities with a lower environmental impact will be a crucial factor for a sustainable future. Therefore, Empa’s efforts include research on a sustainable urban environment with the integration of renewable energies for our everyday needs. Novel insulation materials for low energy consumption buildings will provide an essential contribution to the reduction of fossil energy use and will enable carbon neutral or even zero emission buildings in the near future.

The transformation of the existing building stock is another area with huge energy saving potential. In addition, Empa is working on novel heat collectors for seasonal heat storage, on organic and inorganic solar cells, on novel and more ecological batteries and on hydrogen production, storage and conversion in the frame of its Research Focus Area “Energy”.

 

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Model (1:500) of a city tested in the wind channel of Empa