Oct 4, 2018 | The "concrete disease"
When bridges, dam walls and concrete foundations form cracks, AAR is often the culprit: the alkali-aggregate reaction. It causes the concrete to swell and renders renovations or even reconstructions necessary. A project...
Oct 2, 2018 | Partnership with Optomec
Empa is expanding its Coating Competence Center (CCC) thanks to a new partnership in the field of printed electronics with US-based equipment manufacturer Optomec. Optomec is providing Empa with a new aerosol jetting...
Sep 27, 2018 | Empa Innovation Award for spin-off MycoSolutions
The use of pesticides is still widespread in Swiss agriculture – and the resulting damage to humans and the environment is immense. The Empa spin-off MycoSolutions has developed a method that enables plants and wood...
Sep 24, 2018 | Opening of the NEST “SolAce” unit
Anyone who spends most of their day indoors knows the importance of a comfortable atmosphere to work and live in. Researchers from EPFL’s Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory are searching for ways to maximize...
Sep 10, 2018 | Patches with a light switch
If drugs are to enter the body painlessly and efficiently, they can be administered via skin patches. Researchers at Empa and the University of Fribourg are currently developing nano-containers for therapeutic agents...
Sep 6, 2018 | Carbon fiber plasters for bridges
Empa scientists are saving iron bridges from the 19th century from collapse. Carbon fiber plasters are strengthening the crumbling structures. A railway bridge in Switzerland and a road bridge in Australia have already...
Aug 29, 2018 | Artificial intelligence in quality monitoring
Welding, printing, crushing concrete – an Empa team monitors noisy processes with the help of artificial intelligence. This way you can literally hear production errors and imminent accidents.
Aug 22, 2018 | New precision in joining with reactive foils
Reactive nano-multilayers are considered to be a revolution in joining technology. They are envisaged for joining heat-sensitive materials that would otherwise be damaged or even destroyed upon conventional soldering....