TechTransfer

Bastian Etter develops self-contained sanitation systems that recycle what comes out of our guts. From researcher to entrepreneur.
 

A mechanical system developed at EPFL’s Instant-Lab halves the number of hospital staff needed to turn coma patients and makes the task less physically demanding. It has won the approval of the doctors and nurses who tested the system on dummies.

For three months, an extended family in South Africa tested the standalone Autarky toilet cubicle. Everyone was very happy with the quiet hideout.

Vegetables and fruits often have a long way to go on the supermarket shelf. How can quality be intelligently maintained on long journeys and possible spoilage prevented? In cooperation with Coop, Empa experts are developing a system that keeps an eye on freshness during transport - and at the same time allows optimization.

Lidl Switzerland aims to operate its stores even more sustainably and efficiently in the future. Together with Empa, the company now puts this plan into practice. First, the energy consumption and the interaction of various operational systems in existing stores will be analyzed. Then, the Empa researchers will develop an optimized concept for the stores of the future based on the findings of their analysis.

The ETH researchers behind LatticeFlow are aiming to facilitate a new generation of trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI).

Organic waste – whether from households, agriculture or agroforestry – can be used as energy resource, but is often underexploited. A team of EPFL scientists has developed a methodology to better incorporate this resource into existing power grids and gas distribution systems, depending on local availability and demand.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) treatment of organic waste offers a sustainable and economic solution to the need for organic waste management in Indonesia.

More and more ETH Zurich researchers are taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. By launching spin-offs, they hope to turn their lab findings into solutions that can help stem the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Optimised on-farm grain storage boosts food security in sub-Saharan Africa, as an ETH study in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic shows.

An international team of scientists have developed a photonic processor that uses rays of light inside silicon chips to process information much faster than conventional electronic chips. Published in Nature, the breakthrough study was carried out by scientists from EPFL, the Universities of Oxford, Münster, Exeter, Pittsburgh, and IBM Research – Zurich.

For about six years, H2 Energy AG has been working to build a renewable hydrogen ecosystem in Switzerland. Yesterday, it was awarded the "Watt d'Or" by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) for its efforts. Recently, the company also announced that, thanks to an investment by the international commodity trader Trafigura, expansion into other European countries will now follow. In an interview, Rolf Huber, Chairman of the Board of H2 Energy, looks back on the last few years – and on Empa's contribution to the H2 Energy success story.

ETH researchers have created a database of over 3,000 primary and secondary packaging items from the range of the retailer Denner as a basis for ensuring more environmentally friendly packaging.

In 2020, 34 spin-offs were founded at ETH Zurich, with a striking proportion in the areas of AI and sustainability. Financing rounds totalling more than CHF 400 million and HeiQ's public listing bear witness to the market success of existing ETH spin-offs.

EPFL spin-off Aica has developed AI-based software that makes industrial robots easier to program and more capable of adapting. The software is designed in a modular format so that operators can build a customized application based on their needs. Aica’s advancement expands the range of tasks that robots can perform while cutting implementation costs.