Grant

EuPRAXIA is the first European project that develops a compact particle accelerator research infrastructure based on novel plasma acceleration concepts and laser technology. An Empa Team led by Davide Bleiner and scientists from EPFL are able to contribute thanks to the compensation funding by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Hubert Keiber, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Werner Siemens Foundation, describes why the Board decided to award a 15 million Swiss francs grant to a team of Empa researchers.

The cement industry emits large amounts of climate-damaging carbon dioxide – but alternative binders based on magnesium carbonate could even bind CO₂. Concrete as a carbon sink? A research project at Empa is to explore the basics of this and prepare the stage for practical applications.

Mickael L. Perrin wants to build tiny power plants from graphene nanoribbons that generate electricity from heat. His ambitious project won him one of the prestigious ERC Starting Grants from the EU and one of the 32 Eccellenza Professorial Fellowships by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). He will take up an assistant professorship at ETH Zurich – and continue his research at Empa.

Intense agricultural use is causing soil degradation in many areas. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a rapid test for measuring soil quality on site. This should allow farmers to monitor the health of their land themselves in the future.

The European Research Council has decided on the recipients of its lucrative Advanced Grants. Researchers at ETH Zurich were awarded two grants – one in political science and the other in climate research. ETH is set to receive around CHF 6.6 million.