Green fuels for aviation Research PSI Empa Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the partner institute Empa have started a joint initiative called SynFuels. The goal is to develop a process for producing kerosene from renewable resources. In this way liquid fuel mixtures of the highest quality, which would allow the most residue-free combustion possible and thus be suitable for aircraft propulsion, should be obtainable using carbon dioxide and hydrogen from renewable resources. Energy Sustainability Chemistry Physics Further Reading Graphene filter makes carbon capture more efficient and cheaper EPFL Invasiveness facilitated by a large gene pool Eawag The researcher who oversees the trade in endangered species WSL Watching receptor proteins changing shape PSI Climate change could spell trouble for Swiss stone pine WSL ETH Zurich Subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter Climate change and Swiss lakes Research Eawag A new simulation study shows that climate change risks significantly altering water temperature, ice cover and mixing of many Swiss lakes. Mid altitude lakes are especially under pressure, running the risk of completely losing ice cover and no longer fully mixing twice per year. Such a change would have fundamental consequences for the functioning of lake ecosystems. Ecosystem Drinking Water Bloom Biorenewables develops biomass-based plastics TechTransfer EPFL Thanks to technology developed by start-up Bloom Biorenewables, plant materials can be used as an alternative to petroleum derivatives for producing a wide range of products, including bioplastics, textiles, cosmetics and even perfume. The firm recently raised €3.9 million in capital, bringing it one step closer to the manufacturing stage. Environment Chemistry Sustainability Spin-off From PV module to design object Teaching Empa There is plenty of space for energy generation on building envelopes. However, photovoltaic façades are still rare, even though technology and aesthetics can be combined. As part of a competition, students at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) therefore designed photovoltaic modules as design objects for a façade of NEST on the Empa campus. The winning projects were selected on February 19, 2021. Energy Future Architecture The ETH Domain strives to strengthen the competitiveness of Switzerland in the long term and contribute to the development of society through excellence in research, teaching and knowledge and technology transfer. Will animal experiments be banned in Switzerland? Politics ETH Board Education and research are not the focus of the spring session of the Federal Parliament. However, with the popular initiative to ban animal and human experimentation and the latest differences in the ETH Law, exciting discussions are scheduled that directly affect Switzerland as a centre of research and the ETH Domain.
