Sep 13, 2024 | Towards a sustainable and competitive battery value chain in Europe
The Horizon 2020 SOLiDIFY consortium, comprised of 14 European partners, has developed a high-performance lithium-metal solid-state battery. The prototype battery, manufactured in a state-of-the-art battery lab at...
Sep 10, 2024 | A shaker for construction research
Multi-storey timber buildings are extremely popular. To prevent them from being damaged by strong winds or earthquakes, sufficient bracing must be provided in the supporting structure. Computer calculations provide the...
Sep 5, 2024 | Open Lab Day at Empa in Dübendorf
How does this actually work – research? What are scientists developing in their labs? And what is it like to be a researcher, scientist or engineer? Answers to these questions and more will be provided at Empa's Open Lab...
Sep 2, 2024 | Artwork on campus: Not to Get Lost
On the Empa and Eawag campus in Dübendorf, artist Julian Charrière has created an installation with boulders of different origins, sizes and compositions. The stones are connected by metallic stone wedges that run...
Aug 29, 2024 | STEP2: New NEST unit inaugurated
A digitally manufactured staircase that winds its way up to the second floor. A wafer-thin, perforated concrete ceiling that absorbs sound. Floor and wall materials made from recycled waste. The latest unit in the NEST...
Aug 27, 2024 | New leadership for department Engineering Sciences
The Empa Directorate has appointed Peter Richner's successor in his role as Head of Department. Energy and building technology expert Matthias Sulzer will take over as Head of Department Engineering Sciences as of...
Aug 26, 2024 | The singing Tesla coil
A Tesla coil that makes music besides flashes of lightning? No problem for Silvio Müller and Yanis Strüby, apprentice physics laboratory technicians at Empa. With their singing Tesla coil, they won both the jury and the...
Aug 23, 2024 | Buildings as carbon sinks
With its new research initiative Mining the Atmosphere, Empa is proposing nothing less than a paradigm shift: from a CO2-emitting to a CO2-binding society. The greenhouse gas is to be used as a valuable material – for...
Aug 21, 2024 | Novel measuring method for gas emissions
Researchers from Empa, the University of Bristol and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have investigated the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas HFC-23 from the production of Teflon...
Aug 19, 2024 | The Empa summer camp 2024
The first week of summer vacation in Zurich is summer camp time at Empa! The 20-plus slots for the children of Empa employees were once again in great demand and quickly booked out. In various workshops, the children...
Aug 15, 2024 | Manikins - Sensor technology for the well-tempered office
Thanks to sensor technology and mathematical modeling, smart dummies provide new insights into how workplaces can be brought to a comfortable temperature in an energy-efficient way and how to prevent patients from...
Aug 13, 2024 | Open Lab Day in Dübendorf
On Saturday, 14 September 2024, Empa will host an Open Lab Day at its new research campus in Dübendorf. Visitors can experience research up close, meet scientists, marvel at pioneering technologies in the NEST and move...
Aug 9, 2024 | Construction completed
The joint campus of Empa and Eawag in Dübendorf has grown by three buildings in the past three years. These offer employees and guests more comfort, attractiveness and security – and provide significantly more space for...
Aug 5, 2024 | 30 years of Empa in Thun
Within 30 years, Empa in Thun has developed into an internationally renowned center for materials technology with a unique research infrastructure. Recently, the Thun campus celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Jul 30, 2024 | «Aerogel Architecture Award 2024»
On July 12, the Aerogel Architecture Award was presented for the fourth time on the Empa campus. A total of six projects were awarded in the categories “Realized Solutions” and “Student Projects”. They all show...
Jul 25, 2024 | Improving the resilience of energy systems in the Global South
Under the leadership of Empa scientist Mashael Yazdanie, an international research team is investigating ways to better plan for climate-resilient energy systems in the Global South. Focusing on the case study of Accra,...
Jul 23, 2024 | Monitoring greenhouse gas emissions
A new study by the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) shows how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to reduce the impact of climate change on Switzerland. The experts involved have high hopes for...
Jul 17, 2024 | Medical technolgy
Researchers from ETH Zurich and Empa have developed a hydrogel implant that can help prevent endometriosis, a condition that affects a great many women. This innovation also acts as a contraceptive.
Jul 16, 2024 | Reducing CO2 emissions in concrete production
Recycling cement paste is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to reduce emissions from cement production, a new study published recently in PNAS has found. The research, led by experts at Imperial College...
Jul 8, 2024 | Measuring the doughnut
Sustainability and quality of life – a contradiction? Not necessarily, shows a new study by Empa researchers. According to their calculations, an ecologically and socially just life is possible for over ten billion...
Jul 4, 2024 | Among Europe's leading start-up hubs
Startfeld is one of Europe's leading Start-up Hubs in 2024. The start-up support provided by Empa and the Switzerland Innovation Park Ost in St. Gallen has recently for the first time received the Financial Times Award....
Jul 2, 2024 | Novel diagnostics for kidney stones
The best way to treat kidney stones depends on how what they are composed of and how they are shaped. Empa researchers are now working on a painless diagnostic procedure using dark-field X-ray imaging. This innovative...
Jun 27, 2024 | Synthetic fuels and chemicals from CO₂
Why do just one experiment at a time when you can do ten? Empa researchers have developed an automated system, which allows them to research catalysts, electrodes, and reaction conditions for CO₂ electrolysis up to ten...
Jun 25, 2024 | Medical textiles and sensors
Medical products such as ointments or syringes reach their limits when it comes to delivering medication locally – and above all in a controlled manner over a longer period of time. Empa researchers are therefore...
Jun 18, 2024 | Using models in a different way
To meet the complex requirements of future building and energy systems, Empa researcher Matthias Sulzer and Berkeley Lab researcher Michael Wetter are proposing a paradigm shift in planning of such systems: They call for...
Jun 14, 2024 | OST Technology Day
Around 200 representatives from industry attended the Technology Day at the Buchs campus of OST – Ostschweizer Fachhochschule on 11 June 2024. The event about future technologies for Switzerland, at which Empa researcher...
Jun 13, 2024 | Impact of borehole thermal energy storage on groundwater
In a recently launched project, the aquatic research institute Eawag is investigating, together with Empa on the joint campus in Dübendorf, how the use of borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) affects the surrounding...
Jun 11, 2024 | International environmental treaty shows effect
A new study by an international team of researchers, published today in Nature Climate Change, has revealed significant progress in the drive to reduce atmospheric levels of chemicals that destroy the Earth’s protective...
Jun 6, 2024 | Impact of pollution on embryonic development
Little is yet known about the health effects of nanoparticles on pregnancy. An interdisciplinary team led by Empa researchers is currently analyzing the risks for babies in the womb. Using a lab model, the researchers...
Jun 4, 2024 | Association for Medical Research and Innovation in the canton of Aargau
In future, medical doctors at hospitals in the canton of Aargau will be able to apply for research projects via the Association for Medical Research and Innovation in the Canton of Aargau. For six to 24 months, they will...
Jun 4, 2024 | Award for top quality in vocational training
Empa not only conducts top-notch science, but is also hosts outstanding program for vocational training. For the fourth time in a row, it receives the Great Start! award from the ‘Great Place to Work’ consultancy, making...
May 30, 2024 | New Head of Laboratory
The designated head of the High-Performance Ceramics laboratory is Jakob Schwiedrzik. He has been working at Empa's site in Thun for around ten years and will take over the leadership of the research lab on 1 August 2024...
May 28, 2024 | Image sensor
Capturing three times more light: Empa and ETH researchers are developing an image sensor made of perovskite that could deliver true-color photos even in poor lighting conditions. Unlike conventional image sensors, where...
May 23, 2024 | New appointments
At its meeting on 22/23 May, the ETH Board appointed the heads of two Empa departments as members of the institute's Directorate: Nathalie Casas, Head of the Department Energy, Mobility and Environment, and René Rossi...
May 21, 2024 | Grid-friendly energy supply for buildings
The chilly winter days drive up electricity demand in the building sector – especially when heat pumps are being used. The "H2 districts" project supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) is investigating...
May 16, 2024 | Platform for future healthcare innovations
With the opening of the Health Innovation Hub, Switzerland Innovation Park East is laying the foundation for future innovations in the areas of wearables, health monitoring and disease prevention. The hub serves as a...
May 7, 2024 | CO2 measurements in real time
"On the pulse of the planet - daily facts and figures on the climate" is how the Swiss Radio and Television SRF website advertises its "Climate Monitor". Some of the data published online, namely the CO2 concentrations...
May 2, 2024 | Light, flexible, efficient
All-perovskite tandem solar cells could soon pick up where silicon solar cells reach their limits. These highly efficient, lightweight and flexible cells have already proven themselves in the laboratory – now, Empa...
Apr 25, 2024 | Crystalline Allrounder
The word “perovskite” describes a naturally occurring mineral, but also a whole range of highly specialized synthetic compounds that have promising applications in electronics and photovoltaics. But what do they actually...
Apr 22, 2024 | Swiss team wins Not-a-Boring Competition 2024 in Texas
At the final of the Not-a-Boring Competition 2024 in Bastrop, Texas, the team from Swissloop Tunneling came out on top thanks to a successful drilling process with a self-developed micro-tunneling machine. The team of...