Dec 20, 2021 | Environmentally friendly electronics
Intelligent packaging with sensors that monitor goods, such as vegetables, on long transport routes is a trend for the future. Yet printed and disposable electronics also cause problems: Metals in printing inks are...
Dec 16, 2021 | Switzerland's built infrastructure under pressure
Buildings, roads, railways, supply and disposal networks and much more: The entire Swiss built environment is as complex as its challenges for the future – due to climate change, natural hazards, population growth and...
Dec 14, 2021 | The Empa Research Award 2021 goes to …
Operations on the digestive tract involve particularly high risks. To enable wounds on the intestinal wall to be sealed tightly in the future, Empa researcher Alexandre Anthis has developed a patch that prevents...
Dec 10, 2021 | Professorship at ETH Zurich
The head of Empa's Electron Microscopy Center is thus honored for his many years of successful teaching at ETH Zurich. His research at Empa in the field of transmission electron microscopy is internationally recognized.
Dec 9, 2021 | Corona infections and air quality
Indoor air quality has an influence on how many corona virus infections occur there. This has now been shown for the first time in a pilot project involving Empa researchers in 150 primary school classrooms in...
Dec 8, 2021 | Empa Zukunftsfonds
Scientists are visionaries. Sometimes their ideas go much further than an industrial partner is willing to go. The Empa Zukunftsfonds aims at supporting such visionary projects, where, despite high risks – or precisely...
Dec 1, 2021 | Building smarter
In Dübendorf, Empa is currently building a new, future-oriented research campus, co-operate, where groundbreaking research is conducted – and which is itself an object of research.
Nov 24, 2021 | Better understanding the global carbon cycle
An article in the scientific journal "Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society" describes for the first time how the European ICOS network ("Integrated Carbon Observation System") helps to better understand the...
Nov 23, 2021 | Empa joins ANAXAM network
Together with scientists from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), X-ray specialists from Empa are now providing their industrial partners with access to state-of-the-art material analysis of 3D-printed work pieces and...
Nov 18, 2021 | How can we best achieve the energy transition?
The World Climate Conference in Glasgow has just ended, and the question is whether the goal of maximum global heating of 1.5°C can still be achieved. In a model calculation, Empa researchers show how the energy...
Nov 16, 2021 | Ranking of the Most Cited Researchers in 2021
Every year, the most cited scientists are selected. They are each considered to be particularly influential in their field. This year, Empa has three of these exceptional researchers – two old acquaintances and one...
Nov 11, 2021 | Spalted wood
Spalted wood is a highly sought-after material in the high-end furniture industry. In a newly developed process, Empa scientists have succeeded at controlling the spread of fungi in native wood types to create elaborate...
Nov 9, 2021 | Toward a sustainable energy system
Swiss electricity generation has a very low carbon footprint. However, this is often not the case for imports. Researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Automation, led by Empa researcher...
Nov 8, 2021 | YouTube livestream
2.8 million tons of food are disposed of each year before they land on Swiss plates - and that shouldn't be the case. In terms of a single person, we throw considerable amounts of food directly into the trash at home: 20...
Nov 4, 2021 | 3D Printing Photo Report
Additive Manufacturing, AM in brief, is fascinating: As if by magic, complex workpieces grow in 3D printers: layer by layer by layer ... – without human intervention, as it may seem at first glance. But the technology is...
Nov 1, 2021 | YouTube livestream
Cars that autonomously and safely navigate from A to B are expected to be a common sight in just a few years from now. But road approval is still a long way off. One crucial aspect: How can we tell if a self-driving car...
Oct 28, 2021 | Clothes recycling
Switzerland and the EU are pushing the reuse of raw materials. But despite the best efforts, the circular economy in the textile industry sometimes produces abstruse blossoms. After all, recycling can also harm the...
Oct 26, 2021 | Infrared technology
Short-wave infrared light (SWIR) is useful for many things: It helps sort out damaged fruit and inspecting silicon chips, and it enables night vision devices with sharp images. But SWIR cameras have so far been based on...
Oct 19, 2021 | Environmental pollution
Sediments in the Spöl, a small river in the very south of the canton Graubünden, are contaminated with PCBs. The chemicals originate from a 50-year-old anti-corrosion coating of a hydroelectric power plant in an upstream...
Oct 14, 2021 | Quantum Magnetism
Led by scientists at Empa and the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, an international team of researchers from Switzerland, Portugal, Germany, and Spain have succeeded in building carbon-based quantum spin...
Oct 13, 2021 | Partnership with University of British Columbia
With the signing of a statement of cooperation, the BioProducts Institute at the University of British Columbia (BPI) and Empa are celebrating a new partnership to promote innovation and collaboration, furthering joint...
Oct 8, 2021 | World Resources Forum 2021
What role do transparency and technology play in promoting a sustainable trade in natural resources? Is green mining a myth or can it become reality? These and other questions are the focus of an event organized by the...
Oct 6, 2021 | The NEST HiLo unit has opened
Boasting an intricate, doubly curved concrete roof, lightweight funicular floors, and self-learning building technology, the latest addition to Empa and Eawag's NEST research building in Duebendorf, Switzerland...
Oct 6, 2021 | Empa and Avenergy stand at the fair
From October 7 to 17, the OLMA trade fair will take place in St. Gallen. Empa and Avenergy Suisse will be presenting the theme of the future, hydrogen, at a joint stand in Hall 9.0. Visitors can use a simulator to...
Oct 5, 2021 | Sustainable agriculture
In January 2021, Empa and BASE (Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy) were among the winners of the prestigious Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge by data.org, a platform for partnerships committed to build the field...
Sep 29, 2021 | Recycled clothes
Manufacture, wear, wash, incinerate: This typical life cycle of garments, which pollutes the environment, is to be changed in the future – towards principles of circular economy with recycling at its core. Using an...
Sep 24, 2021 | New diagnostics for Alzheimer's?
Empa researcher Peter Nirmalraj wants to image proteins with unprecedented precision – and thus gain insights into the molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer's. This should pave the way for an earlier diagnosis of the...
Sep 15, 2021 | Flame-resistant fibers
A new chemical process developed by Empa turns cotton into a fire-resistant fabric, that nevertheless retains the skin-friendly properties of cotton.
Sep 13, 2021 | Looking back
On 26 August 1992, two people showed up at the Empa reception in Dübendorf with two samples of Osmium-187 – a rare and valuable isotope of the platinum metal –, which they wanted to have analyzed. This required an...
Sep 7, 2021 | Flexible solar cells gain power
A new efficiency record of 21.4% for flexible CIGS solar cell on polymer film has been achieved by scientists at Empa. Solar cells of this type are especially suited for applications on roofs, transport vehicles or...
Sep 6, 2021 | EU project for future-oriented robotics
The COgITOR project is being funded by the EU with about 3.5 million Euros for the next four years. Coordinated by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa and with the participation of Empa scientists, COgITOR...
Sep 3, 2021 | Foundation laid for new research campus, co-operate
Less than four months after the groundbreaking ceremony, the foundation for the co-operate research campus of Empa and Eawag was laid on 3 September 2021. At the ceremony in Dübendorf, representatives of all partners...
Aug 31, 2021 | Sprint, a new NEST Unit now in operation
Sprint sets new standards for circular construction: In only ten months, flexible and COVID-19-compliant office spaces were built at NEST, the research and innovation platform of Empa and Eawag, using mostly reused...
Aug 24, 2021 | Energy renovation
Switzerland's building stock is quite impressive. There are around 1.8 million buildings in the country, but only one percent of this building stock is renovated each year. In other words, it will take 100 years for the...
Aug 19, 2021 | Medical Technology
Closing wounds in the digestive tract is a challenge. Empa researchers have now developed a polymer patch for the intestine that can be used to stably bond and seal internal injuries.
Aug 12, 2021 | Interview
Alain Aerni is trying to look into the future: His "Crystalball" energy control system combines photovoltaics, heat pumps and charging stations and uses weather reports to predict energy requirements. In late 2020 he...
Aug 6, 2021 | EXCLAIM research initiative
Torrential rain and flooding have dominated the weather over the past few weeks. To forecast these weather events with greater accuracy and gain a better understanding of them against the backdrop of global climate...
Aug 3, 2021 | Concrete
The technology of stabilizing concrete structures with carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, thus helping them to last longer, was developed decades ago; among others at Empa. Today, researchers in Dübendorf are working on a...
Jul 29, 2021 | Liquid core fibers
Data and signals can be transmitted quickly and reliably with glass fibers – as long as the fiber does not break. Strong bending or tensile stress can quickly destroy it. An Empa team has now developed a fiber with a...
Jul 26, 2021 | Aerogel Architecture Award 2021
On July 15, 2021, the Aerogel Architecture Award was presented for the first time at Empa, recognizing successful energy renovations using aerogel insulating materials. The winners were two projects from Germany and one...
Jul 20, 2021 | Passenger cars
Up to now passenger cars are classified by experts in each country into categories such as micro, small, middle, upper middle, large and luxury class. But this old fashioned method has limitations in terms of...
Jul 15, 2021 | Climate friendly building
Insulation webs are essential in aluminum window profiles and facades for good thermal insulation. Empa researchers and their partners have been working for some time on a novel "sandwich" product with an environmentally...
Jul 13, 2021 | Optics
When fluorescent dye molecules nestle perfectly together, something completely new is created: an excited state distributed over many molecules. Such collective excitations can be used in a variety of ways – for organic...
Jul 7, 2021 | The new Swissloop pod
Two years after Elon Musk's last Hyperloop Pod Competition in California, Swissloop, a team of students from ETH Zurich, has joined forces with three other teams to launch the European Hyperloop Week. In mid-July, the...
Jul 6, 2021 | Solar technology from Synhelion to receive Innosuisse funding
Synhelion and Empa are conducting a joint research project, co-funded by the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse, to further develop a high-temperature energy storage solution that is a key component in the production of...
Jul 1, 2021 | Simulation
Modern, decentralized energy systems are a highly complex matter. Planning them in an optimal and cost-efficient way is a major challenge for energy planners. Sympheny, an Empa spin-off, offers a software that helps...
Jun 22, 2021 | Energy storage
During the winter months, renewable energy is in short supply throughout Europe. An international project is now considering an unconventional solution: Renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide are pumped into the ground...
Jun 17, 2021 | Chemical Contamination
Bacteria from an Indian landfill could help eliminate contaminated chemicals. The focus is on pesticides such as lindane or brominated flame retardants, which accumulate in nature and in food chains. Researchers at Empa...
Jun 14, 2021 | Empa/ETH Zurich researcher honored
For his pioneering work on the surface chemistry of nanocrystals and their use for electronic and optoelectronic devices, including batteries, photodetectors, thermoelectrics, solar cells and light sources, Empa/ETH...
Jun 10, 2021 | Now also a virtual experience
The research and innovation building NEST of Empa and Eawag can now be visited virtually at any time and from anywhere in the world. The launch of the virtual NEST tour is a further step towards closing the gap between...
Jun 8, 2021 | Synthetic fuels
Produced in a sustainable way, synthetic fuels contribute to switching mobility to renewable energy and to achieving the climate goals in road traffic. In Empa's mobility demonstrator, move, researchers are investigating...
Jun 3, 2021 | Internet of Things
The number of data-transmitting microdevices, for instance in packaging and transport logistics, will increase sharply in the coming years. All these devices need energy, but the amount of batteries would have a major...
Jun 1, 2021 | Personalized medicine
Digital twins enable customized medical therapies. Empa researchers have now modeled several hundred such avatars based on real people and treated them experimentally. For the first time, the digital twins received...
May 27, 2021 | The other side of entropy
An international team led by Empa and ETH Zurich researchers is playing with shape-engineered nanoscale building blocks that are up to 100-times larger than atoms and ions. And although these nano "Lego bricks" interact...
May 25, 2021 | Quantum electronics
Scientists at Empa and EPFL have identified a new type of defect as the most common source of disorder in on-surface synthesized graphene nanoribbons, a novel class of carbon-based materials that may prove extremely...
May 20, 2021 | Recycling
Swiss drivers wear out countless tires. Instead of incinerating them, they could be reused locally: The asphalt of various countries has long contained rubber from used tires. Empa and its partners from industry are...
May 18, 2021 | Keeping it cool despite climate change
Climate-related temperature rises will further increase the cooling demand of buildings. A projection by Empa researchers based on data from the NEST building and future climate scenarios for Switzerland shows that this...
May 12, 2021 | Empa CEO re-elected
The Federal Council confirmed Empa CEO Gian-Luca Bona in office. Bona has been re-elected for a fourth term from 1 September 2021 to 31 May 2022.
May 12, 2021 | Empa’s Annual Report 2020 now online
Empa’s Annual Report 2020 leads you on a gripping journey through the world of research and innovation; you may be surprised at how broad the term "applied research" is defined at Empa.
May 11, 2021 | Sustainability
Even a sustainable circular economy doesn't run without energy. Solar panels and wind farms, tidal and geothermal power plants: They all divert energy from energy fluxes that had remained untapped since time immemorial....