Sustainability
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.
“A universal definition of space sustainability is hard to find”
Politics
EPFL
Under a new rating system, it will soon be possible to assess the social, economic and environmental impact of space missions. The consortium behind the initiative, which includes the World Economic Forum (WEF), has tasked EPFL’s Space Center (eSpace) with finalizing the assessment criteria and implementing the system in this fast-changing field.
Mixed cultures for a greater yield
Research
ETH Zurich
What holds true for meadows would seem to apply to arable land, too: mixed cultures are more fruitful than monocultures. This was the outcome of an ETH Zurich research project led by Christian Schöb.
New connector for sustainable structures on Earth and in space
TechTransfer
EPFL
As part of his Master’s degree in civil engineering, an EPFL student developed a connector for use in building sustainable structures. His initial project has expanded into an online program for designing bamboo furniture that’s stylish, modular and customizable. And now his connector is being looked at for use by astronauts in outer space.
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