Viboo raises 1.5 million Swiss francs

Viboo has received a total of 1.5 million Swiss francs from investors in a seed round. The young company has developed a platform for energy-efficient control of the indoor climate of buildings. The funds will be used to commercialize it.

Empa develops novel battery

Empa has developed the first battery that combines high storage capacity with fast charging and high safety. The solid-state battery with stacked thin films is initially of interest for aircraft and drones. Empa spin-off BTRY AG was founded to commercialize the technology. BTRY is incubated at glatec.

Catarina Dahlin from Dagsmejan is among Founders of the Year

Catarina Dahlin, co-founder and co-CEO of Dagsmejan a former glatec/Startfeld start-up, is a finalist in the international Founder of the Year Medium Size Companies competition. Her company scientifically develops sleepwear that is comfortable and regulates temperature.

Swiss Wood Solutions finds partner for wooden payment cards

The German DG Nexolution is acquiring shares in Swiss Wood Solutions. Together, the two partners want to market the Empa spin-off's global novelty internationally: a plastic-free and biodegradable wooden card for payment transactions.

Credit cards made of Swiss wood: relocation to Uri

Swiss Wood Solutions AG, a spin-off from Empa and ETH Zurich, moved from the glatec business incubator to Altdorf in the canton of Uri in July 2022. There, the young company and its ten employees will now start producing sustainable credit cards made of wood. The "Swiss Wood Cards" are made from veneers of local woods such as maple, curly maple, cherry, oak, spruce and many others. Each card is unique with personalized laser engraving or color printing and functions like any other conventional credit card. The location decision was made in favor of the canton of Uri in April 2022 after evaluating several cantons.

https://swisswoodcards.swisswoodsolutions.ch/en

Innosuisse Certificate for Empa Spin-off MIRO

Founded in February 2018 as an Empa spin-off, the start-up company MIRO Analytical received one of the coveted Innosuisse Certificates in October. The certificate reflects the remarkable progress the young company made during the funding agency's coaching program and confirms that the start-up is ready for sustainable growth.

Dätwyler acquires CTsystems

Dätwyler acquires CTsystems, a spin-off from Empa. CTsystems' patents for electroactive polymers are thus transferred to Dätwyler. They enable completely new applications, for example in the car of the future.

Perovskia Solar AG ranks second in Swiss Innovation Challenge

PEROVSKIA SOLAR AG is a Swiss cleantech startup from Empa offering digitally printed, customizable solar cells for OEMs. Their vision is to enable a solar cell on every device. The solar cells are tailored to seamlessly integrate with electronic devices, IoT and sensors. The versatile technology offers breakthrough performance at breakthrough cost. Perovskia's solar cells work efficiently even in low-light conditions such as homes and offices.  They offer solutions from design to integration into electronic devices.

www.perovskia.solar

Basel-based energy provider acquires Sympheny stake

A large number of factors come into play when planning the energy use of individual buildings or entire developments. In order to identify and evaluate the various energy solutions, the Dübendorf-based startup Sympheny has developed energy planning software. Using algorithms, a digital twin of the energy system and now also GIS data, the software can simulate the local production, storage and consumption of energy.

viboo, an Empa spin-off Optimizing indoor temperatures – thanks to AI

The Empa spin-off viboo has developed a self-learning algorithm for controlling the indoor climate. This enables predictive cooling or heating of buildings, thus saving around one third of energy. Following successful experiments at NEST, Empa's and Eawag's research and innovation building, the first pilot projects are now being implemented with industrial partners.
Conventional thermostats, which are commonplace in many residential buildings today, only react when the temperature falls below or exceeds a certain threshold. The reaction is therefore always too late and too severe, as the desired temperature is to be reached again as fast as possible. This costs energy and ultimately money. The solution: a thermostat that looks ahead and regulates the room temperature with foresight.

WSL spin-off hits the air with revolutionary moisture detection

The Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL launches its first-ever spin-off company, selling a groundbreaking water-detection device. The drone-carried instrument is a cost-effective alternative to satellite and ground-based moisture measurements to support, amongst others, smart farming, wildfire detection or glacier monitoring. The new firm is the result of many years of L-band microwave research at WSL.

Eawag replaces animal experiments with fish cells

The OECD has certified a test method that replaces animal experiments with fish cells that can be reproduced. This means that the toxicity test developed at the ETH Domain's Water Research Institute (Eawag) can be used, for example, for the approval of chemicals.