Innovation
Swiss PIC to support Swiss photonics industry
TechTransfer
PSI
The technology transfer centre Swiss PIC was founded at the beginning of January 2023. Swiss PIC will be located in the Park Innovaare, in the immediate vicinity of PSI, one of its founding partners alongside other industry and research stakeholders. The new centre aims to facilitate innovation in packaging and integration of optical systems and to make these accessible to industry.
Plant-based insulation materials as CO2 sinks?
Research
Empa
Empa researchers want to develop a novel type of insulating material from plant-based raw materials or waste products that can permanently bind the CO2 it contains by means of a special heat treatment – and thus act as a CO2 sink. What's more, once the buildings have been deconstructed, this "biochar" and the CO2 it contains can be used in agriculture to increase soil fertility. The promising idea convinced several funding institutions, which are now supporting the concept financially.
Robust and flexible to synthetic methane
Research
Empa
Synthetic energy carriers are carbon-neutral and make renewable energy transportable and storable in the long term. Synthetically produced methane is one of them. The problem: The production involves rather high energy losses; moreover, existing processes require the methane to be purified. To change this, Empa researchers have developed a new, optimized reactor concept for methanation.
Two more technology transfer centers for Switzerland
TechTransfer
Empa
The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) and the AM-TTC Alliance, the umbrella organization of technology transfer centers in the field of Advanced Manufacturing (AM) technologies, decided in November to fund two more centers in the fields of collaborative robotics and photonics with 6.5 million Swiss francs until the end of 2024.
"Keeping an eye on processes"
TechTransfer
Empa
Pierangelo Gröning, President of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Transfer Center (AM-TTC) Alliance and Empa's Research Commission and member of Empa's Directorate, explains the research institute's role in AM research.
Entire colour palette of inexpensive fluorescent dyes
Research
ETH Zurich
ETH researchers have developed a modular system for the simple and inexpensive production of security inks. It is based on polymers and could also be used in solar power plants and screens in the future.
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