May 19, 2011 | Swiss researchers boost efficiency of flexible solar cells to new world record
Scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have further boosted the energy conversion efficiency of flexible solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (also...
May 9, 2011 | Taking a close look at the eco-balance of coffee capsules
Exactly how environmentally friendly are the various capsule systems and other ways of making coffee? Empa researchers have taken a close look at the ecological balances of the various systems currently in use. The...
28.04.2011 | Jahresmedienkonferenz des ETH-Rats in Bern
Die Empa und die anderen Institutionen des ETH-Bereichs betreiben Spitzenforschung zu erneuerbarer Energie, Energieeffizienz und Grosskraftwerken. Damit liefern sie Grundlagen für energiepolitische und ökonomische...
Apr 26, 2011 | Empa’s successful new CTI project
Researchers at Empa, in cooperation with textile designer Annette Douglas and silk weavers Weisbrod-Zürrer AG, have developed lightweight, translucent curtain materials, which are excellent at absorbing sound. This is a...
Apr 12, 2011 | Empa researchers use electron beams for chemical reactions
Electron microscopes use focussed electron beams to make extremely small objects visible. By combining the instrument with a gas-injection system material samples can be manipulated and surface structures measuring only...
Apr 6, 2011 | Empa opens laser centre in Thun
On 7 April 2011, in the presence of its Director, Gian-Luca Bona, and the Mayor of Thun, Raphael Lanz, Empa’s new laser centre, which houses the only UV laser facility of its kind in the world, was opened in Thun. The...
Mar 29, 2011 | Publication of the first Swiss Cleantech Report
Environmentally friendly technologies are becoming increasingly important to Switzerland as an economic and research hub. A new study has revealed that Swiss companies in all sectors are investing substantial sums in...
Mar 24, 2011 | Novel electrode for flexible thin-film solar cells
Conventional silicon-based rigid solar cells generally found on the market are not suitable for manufacturing moldable thin-film solar cells, in which a transparent, flexible and electrically conductive electrode...
Mar 18, 2011 | Wind tunnel begins operations at Empa in Duebendorf
On hot days it is often very still in cities because the high density of buildings prevents the air from circulating freely. In the newly commissioned wind tunnel operated by Empa and the ETH Zürich wind effects and...
Feb 17, 2011 | Empa/ETH Zurich study published in «Nature»
For the first time, scientists from Empa and ETH Zurich have, in collaboration with a Dutch team, managed to measure the atomic structure of individual nanoparticles. The technique, recently published in «Nature», could...
Feb 15, 2011 | EmpaNews 32 published
Researchers of Empa and ETH Zürich's Institute for Rapid Product Development, together with the Swiss company TISCA TIARA and the German fibre manufacturer Schramm GmbH, have developed a bi-component fibre for a novel...
Feb 10, 2011 | Empa and TISCA TIARA have developed a novel bi-component fibre
Empa researchers, together with TISCA TIARA, a Swiss manufacturer of artificial turf, have developed a novel fibre for artificial turf. The bi-component fibre returns to an upright position again and again thanks to a...
09.02.2011 | Axpo Holding AG und Empa
Elektrofahrzeuge sind nicht immer umweltfreundlich. Eine unabhängige Studie der Empa im Auftrag der Axpo zur Ökobilanz von Fahrzeugen mit verschiedenen Antrieben zeigt zwei Erkenntnisse: Wichtig ist, dass die zum Antrieb...
Feb 2, 2011 | Empa organises an international construction conference in Dubai
The first international conference on “smart” monitoring, assessment and rehabilitation of buildings and other construction works will take place from 8-10 February 2011 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the place...
Feb 1, 2011 | Winter smog and fine particulates
Road traffic is one of the main sources of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, above all when the weather situation favors the creation of winter smog, as has been the case over the past few day in the Swiss...
Jan 28, 2011 | How Safe Is Nano?
The rapid development of nanotechnology has increased fears about the health risks of nano-objects. Are these fears justified? Do we need a new discipline, nanotoxicology, to evaluate the risks? Harald F. Krug and Peter...
Jan 27, 2011 | At work against microbes for over a century
Nanosilver is not a new discovery by nanotechnologists – it has been used in various products for over a hundred years, as is shown by a new Empa study. The antimicrobial effects of minute silver particles, which were...
Jan 20, 2011 | Science Apéro: Photovoltaics in Switzerland
For the Swiss energy market, as elsewhere, solar energy is becoming ever more lucrative. There is no shortage of suitable areas to install solar cells and there is enough sunshine in the country too. Thanks to...
Jan 18, 2011 | Empa and the Cantonal Hospital St. Gall strengthen collaboration
In future Empa and the Cantonal Hospital St. Gall will work together more intensively in various fields of research and development in medicinal and medical materials. In addition to previous cooperative projects in the...