Innovation

Although the consequences of climate change are becoming more and more visible and tangible, the transition to climate-friendly energy systems is only proceeding slowly. In a field experiment, Eawag and the University of Groningen (NL) investigated what kind of measures could be used to better promote innovations such as heat pumps.

The project designed at ECAL for the GlobalNeonNat project led by EPFL's EssentialTech Center is garnering attention – and awards – at international design shows.

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 materials and components. The new NEST unit demonstrates: The stock of reusable materials and the re-use potential in the construction industry are huge and just need to be picked up and utilized.

EPFL spin-off Rheon Medical has developed the world’s first adjustable glaucoma drainage system, which has already been used successfully in over 250 patients in Europe. The company, based at EPFL Innovation Park, closed a CHF 5.6 million Series C funding round in December 2020 and just received the U.S. FDA’s Breakthrough Device Designation for its technology.

EPFL Summer series: How science works. Every year, EPFL scientists churn out over 4,000 journal articles on new discoveries and nearly 140 inventions. Even though discoveries and inventions are closely related, it would be a mistake to put them in the same basket: the intellectual property is handled in two very different ways.

Enabled by Design is a joint EPFL-ECAL program that forges ties between researchers and designers to make it easier to bring new technology to market.