Energy
Three strategies to boost green electricity in Switzerland
Research
ETH Zurich
Climate neutrality and nuclear phase-out: Switzerland's ambitious green electricity targets are realistic if the electricity supply is profoundly and rapidly transformed, as a study by the SWEET EDGE consortium shows. The researchers developed three strategies for expanding renewable energies.
The big clean-up in the atmosphere
Politics
Empa
If we want to achieve our climate goals and prevent irreversible changes to the Earth's climate system, we not only need to curb our greenhouse gas emissions, but also remove excess man-made CO2 from the atmosphere. This is the aim of a new large-scale research initiative by Empa, Mining the Atmosphere. Peter Richner, Deputy Director of Empa, explains how to do this while creating a completely new economic system in the process. A new NEST unit, Beyond Zero, is also dedicated to CO2-negative technologies, as is the current issue of the research magazine Empa Quarterly.
A micro-ring resonator with big potential
Research
EPFL
EPFL researchers have developed a hybrid device that significantly improves existing, ubiquitous laser technology.
Charging electric cars without any cables
TechTransfer
Empa
Eight stakeholders from business, science and the public sector launched the first project for wireless charging of electric vehicles in Switzerland at the end of November 2023. The project team is investigating the technical feasibility of inductive charging under everyday conditions, determining the advantages and disadvantages compared to conventional charging systems and clarifying the approval process. Empa is part of the project team, which is supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE).
What should be done with all the carbon dioxide?
Research
ETH Zurich
Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it either in recycled concrete aggregate or in geological reservoirs in Iceland is not only technically feasible, but also has a positive carbon footprint. These are the findings of a pilot project lead by ETH Zurich and commissioned by the Swiss confederation.
Watching electrons at work
Research
ETH Zurich Empa
Researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa and Stanford have taken snapshots of the crystal structure of perovskite nanocrystals as it was deformed by excited electrons. To their surprise, the deformation straightened out the skewed crystal structure rather than making it more disordered.
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