Empa (Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt)

Synthetic gas instead of fossil energy

There is one major challenge in converting our energy system to purely renewable energy sources: winter – or rather the supply gap at this time. The conversion of surplus summer electricity into synthetic gas offers a way of ensuring that renewable energy could be available in sufficient qu ... more

Printing complex cellulose-based objects

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) have set a new world record: they 3D printed complex objects with higher cellulose content than that of any other additively manufactured cellulose-​based parts. To achieve this, they ... more

CO2 tracking in space

CO2 concentrations in the air continue to rise rapidly, and a rapid reduction in man-made emissions is becoming increasingly important. In order to assess the effectiveness of political measures, timely and reliable emission levels are needed. However, current methods are costly. The Europe ... more

A water-based, rechargeable battery

First step to produce a cheap aquous electrolyte for powerful rechargeable batteries: Seven grams of sodium FSI (precise name: sodium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide) and one gram of water produce a clear saline solution with an electrochemical stability of up to 2.6 volts – twice as much as other ... more