Empa
Chemicals could undercut global plastics treaty
Research
Empa
Next week the UN intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) on plastic pollution will meet in Uruguay to develop an international legally binding instrument against plastic pollution. There is concern among scientists that the negotiations will overlook the diversity and complexity of chemicals present in plastics. This would severely undermine the treaty’s effectiveness, according to a new study published in the recent issue of the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
A chip to replace animal testing
Research
Empa ETH Zurich
Empa researchers are developing a medical chip in collaboration with the ETH Zurich and the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen that will allow statements to be made about the effect of substances on babies in the womb. The Zurich-based ProCare Foundation is funding the project, which was recently launched.
Water-activated paper battery among the world's best inventions
TechTransfer
Empa
Every year, TIME publishes a list of the most important inventions of the year. This year, Gustav Nyström and his team from Empa's Cellulose & Wood Materials Laboratory made it onto the list with their biodegradable disposable battery, which points the way to the future of environmentally friendly electronics.
Renewable cellulose-based fillers
TechTransfer
Empa
The substitution of petrochemical materials with those obtained from renewable raw materials is an important step towards increasing sustainability. In just two years of intensive and open collaboration between Empa and the Datwyler Schweiz AG as part of an Innosuisse project, a process was successfully developed that brought together the worlds of cellulose and rubbers. 
Always following the sun
Research
Empa
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees requires the energy system to be restructured as quickly as possible. But the speed of this transformation is physically limited. An Empa study now calculates the influence of energy storage systems on the maximum possible transition speed – and thus also on the probability of successfully mastering the climate crisis.
Textile electrodes for medtech applications
TechTransfer
Empa
Nahtlos, an Empa spin-off, has received 1 million Swiss francs in a first round of financing from a network of business angels from Switzerland and Liechtenstein and from the Startfeld Foundation. With this funding, Nahtlos aims to drive the market entry of its newly developed textile-based electrode for medical applications.
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