Energy

Buildings, districts and cities currently often have outdated energy systems. Homes must be made more energy-efficient and districts need to be supplied with renewable energy. In cities, the aim is to turn energy production and mobility into sustainable systems. This involves complex energy models that Kristina Orehounig is researching in her “Urban Energy Systems” department at Empa.

Power converters play an essential role in electric vehicles and solar panels, for example, but tend to lose a lot of power in the form of heat in the electricity conversion process. Thanks to a new type of transistor developed at EPFL, these converters can perform at substantially improved efficiencies, especially in high-power applications.

EPFL engineers are taking part in PROMETEO – an EU research project to generate hydrogen on a large scale from renewable sources, in an effort to lower industrial carbon emissions.

EPFL will soon be home to a European hub for high-performance computing focused on fusion power – a potential source of clean, risk-free energy. As part of this effort, EPFL’s Swiss Plasma Center will lead a campus-wide, cross-disciplinary research team.

EPFL scientists have developed a new dye for solar cells that enables high power-conversion efficiency while being simple and cheap to make. The dye also works exceptionally well under low-light conditions, which is key for self- and low-powered devices.

Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have made wood compressible and turned it into a micro-generator. When it is loaded, an electrical voltage is generated. In this way, the wood can serve as a bio-sensor - or generate usable energy. The latest highlight: To ensure that the process does not require aggressive chemicals, naturally occurring wood-degrading fungi take over the task of modifying the wood.