Sustainability
Water resources: defusing conflict, promoting cooperation
TechTransfer
ETH Zurich
The EU funded project DAFNE has developed a methodology for avoiding conflicts of use in transboundary rivers. The model-based procedure allows for participatory planning and cooperative management of water resources. The aim is now for the DAFNE methodology to be implemented in other regions of the world.
Filled energy saving bar
TechTransfer
Empa
Insulation webs are essential in aluminum window profiles and facades for good thermal insulation. Empa researchers and their partners have been working for some time on a novel "sandwich" product with an environmentally friendly filling: recycled material from PET bottles. Now the market launch is approaching – with good prospects of success.
Reforestation may help mitigate droughts
Research
ETH Zurich
Based on observational data from Europe, climate researchers from ETH Zurich have shown for the first time that forests lead to a rise in precipitation. Their analyses also revealed that if the available agricultural land were reforested, the amount of precipitation in Europe could increase by more than 7 percent.
A next step towards climate-friendly fuels
Research
Empa
Synhelion and Empa are conducting a joint research project, co-funded by the Swiss Innovation Agency Innosuisse, to further develop a high-temperature energy storage solution that is a key component in the production of climate-friendly solar fuels. The project will enable the cost-effective and scalable storage of high-temperature solar heat at over 1'000°C for the first time. The storage technology is expected to be used in Synhelion’s first industrial-scale solar fuel production facility, which will be built in 2022.
Testing on the Limmat to combat plastic in the oceans
Teaching
ETH Zurich
This summer, students from ETH Zurich will test various technologies on the Limmat for the automatic removal of waste. The Autonomous River Cleanup project is starting with rivers to tackle the global problem of marine pollution.
Optimising nature
Research
ETH Zurich
Today, molecular genetic methods can be used to breed sustainable crops - such as multinutrient rice. Researchers are calling for the risk of new plant varieties to be assessed not on the basis of the breeding method, but on the basis of their characteristics.
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