ETH News

Since the 1980s, its been known that a mysterious contaminant forms in chloraminated drinking water, but only now has a Swiss-American research team been able to identify the unknown product in US drinking water systems.

Marco Mazzotti will be conferred emeritus status at the end of January 2025. A good reason for a portrait of this dedicated process engineer, who came to his field of research quite unexpectedly.

Hydrogen-powered planes are set to take wing around the world in the future. To make this possible, engineers have to develop the jet engines that will power them. Experiments by researchers at ETH Zurich are now providing the necessary basis for making these engines powerful and durable.

A secure supply of electricity from renewable energies can only succeed if we also modernise the grid infrastructure. At the Energy Science Centre (ESC), ETH researchers are looking for smart ways to make the electricity grid fit for the energy transition without expensive expansion.

A team led by ETH climate researcher Sandro Vattioni has shown that diamond dust released in the atmosphere could be a good way to cool the climate. However, it is still not a sustainable solution to climate change, says Vattioni in an interview with ETH News.

While living matter can advance technology and render human activities more efficient and eco-friendly, the way in which we currently fabricate materials containing living cells is far from sustainable. Miriam Filippi calls us to rethink our biofabrication practices.

ETH agronomist Fridolin Stocker worked on Swiss farms before discovering his fascination for Africa. Today he manages a coffee farm in Zambia.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have been working with researchers from Ukraine and Germany to investigate how to rebuild Ukraine’s destroyed energy infrastructure based on renewable energy. They have determined that solar and wind energy would quickly deliver a distributed power supply system and prevent corruption.

ETH Zurich researchers have developed a fast, robot-assisted printing process for earth materials that does not require cement.

Ahead of the vote on the biodiversity initiative, basic insights on the state of biodiversity and habitats in Switzerland are being discussed controversially. Loïc Pellissier counters by holding up the scientific consensus.

Scientists around the world can now go full throttle in their research into chemical plastics recycling. Researchers at ETH Zurich have laid important foundations for this by showing that it’s all about the stirring.

From devising forecasting models for the Federal Finance Administration and describing the latest trends in civil protection, ETH researchers routinely supply vital support to the Swiss state and help drive innovation.

Despite a wet and grey June, summers in Switzerland are getting hotter than expected. The increased summer temperatures harbour risks that we are not well prepared for, says Dominik Schumacher.

ETH researchers are developing a process inspired by nature that efficiently recovers europium from old fluorescent lamps. The approach could lead to the long-awaited recycling of rare earth metals.

Whether sustainably produced hydrogen needs to be 100 percent green is currently under debate. Using the production of ammonia and artificial fertiliser as examples, researchers have calculated that "nearly sustainable" hydrogen would be better in the end.

Jessica Droujko’s start-up, Riverkin, measures the water quality of freshwater ecosystems and helps quantify and respond to risks such as floods and pollution. Thanks to an ETH Pioneer Fellowship, her work is now picking up speed.

Eighteen start-ups were awarded prizes at this year’s Venture Awards, including five ETH Zurich spin-offs. CLIMADA won first prize in the Finance & Insurance category.

Start-up URBNC 3 produces sustainable and personalised sandals with the aid of digital technology. The start-up took its first steps at the Student Project House of ETH Zurich.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences have developed a novel solution for heat pumps. Using this new approach, companies can generate carbon-free process heat at temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius while also drastically reducing the number of different heat pumps required.

The federal government has plans to tax electric vehicles to secure funding for road infrastructure. However, a new levy could delay the switch to electromobility. Alessio Levis explains how this dilemma could be resolved.

Cathodic corrosion protection is a widely used technique for protecting steel-based infrastructure from corrosion. ETH researchers have now clarified the detailed mechanisms involved, thereby resolving a controversial issue that had preoccupied the engineering community for decades.

The landslide in Brienz (GR) in 2023 kept Switzerland on tenterhooks for weeks. Researchers from ETH Zurich, WSL and SLF used a model to provide a highly accurate blind prediction of where the sliding mass would come to rest. ETH Professor Johan Gaume explains how the model works and where its limitations lie.

ETH Zurich announces its expedition towards climate neutrality today with pop-up events by students and the first Net Zero Day. The "ETH Net Zero" programme supports the reduction of emissions by 2030 and offers people plenty of ways to get involved.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have teamed up with the food industry to produce a whole-fruit variety of chocolate. This helps increase the value creation of cocoa farming – and is healthier.

Renewable energies are not the main driver of biodiversity loss. It is rather the other way round: renewables can limit climate change in order to preserve biodiversity. Cyril Brunner contextualises the trade-offs from a scientific perspective.

Instead of burning coal or oil to produce cement or steel, in the future solar energy could be used for this purpose. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a thermal trap that can absorb concentrated sunlight and deliver heat at over thousand degrees Celsius.

Like forests, grassland provides numerous ecological, economic and social benefits. Researchers have investigated ways to maintain and improve these benefits in the Swiss canton of Solothurn.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have engineered bacteria in the laboratory to efficiently use methanol. The metabolism of these bacteria can now be tapped into to produce valuable products currently made by the chemical industry from fossil fuels.

Researchers at ETH Zurich led by Robert Boes are developing specific solutions to optimise electricity production from Swiss hydropower plants. This will ensure that hydropower remains the backbone of Switzerland’s electricity supply in the future.

Environmental scientist Alice Pradel cultivates ice cores in the lab to investigate the transport and accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics. Her aim in doing so is to better understand material flows in the Arctic ice.

Renovating buildings to improve their energy efficiency is a crucial step towards Switzerland achieving its climate targets. ETH Zurich researchers can now reveal the most effective renovation strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: replace fossil-fuel heating systems and harness the potential of bio-based building materials like straw and hemp.

We can transition to pesticide-free agriculture without converting to organic farming. Robert Finger outlines the advantages and challenges involved.

Estelle Clerc searches remote waters such as the deep ocean for bacteria that can degrade specific pollutants such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals and pesticides.

Christoph Schär is one of the Swiss climate scientists who have shaped high-resolution climate modelling. He is now retiring after more than 35 years at ETH Zurich. In this portrait, he explains why he himself never tires of researching climate change.

The cost of removing large quantities of CO₂ from the air will fall in the medium term, but not as much as previously hoped. This is the conclusion reached by ETH researchers on the basis of new calculations. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions should therefore continue at pace, says the research team.

ETH Zurich researchers have recovered the precious metal from electronic waste. Their highly sustainable new method is based on a protein fibril sponge, which the scientists derive from whey, a food industry byproduct.

Artificial intelligence and automated laboratory infrastructure are massively accelerating the development of new chemical catalysts. With these tools, researchers at ETH Zurich are developing catalysts for efficiently and cost-effectively synthesising the energy source methanol from CO₂.

Switzerland offers tremendous opportunities for technological and entrepreneurial innovation. Thomas Zurbuchen asks, “How can we generate the momentum needed to maintain an edge in the face of international competition – especially when times get tough?”

Wherever hot water flows, limescale is never far away. In households, this is a nuisance; in thermal power stations, it’s an expensive problem. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have found an answer.

At ETH Zurich, there is a room where the sun shines at the touch of a button; one hour it’s noon in the Sahara, the next it’s January in Berlin. Researchers use it to test newly developed building systems, components and materials.

A global study shows that the world’s groundwater resources are dwindling: levels are falling sharply worldwide, and the decline has accelerated in the 21st century. Nevertheless, there is still reason for hope.

For Anthony Patt, Europe’s ambitious plans for a hydrogen economy may be too ambitious, tipping the scales towards the interests of the fossil fuel industry, rather than energy consumers and the climate. Switzerland should be careful before jumping fully on board, he argues.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and ETH Zurich, in collaboration with their international partners, are launching the International Computation and AI Network (ICAIN) at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024 in Davos. Its mission is to develop AI technologies that benefit society as a whole, as well as being accessible to all and sustainable, thereby helping to reduce global inequality.

Researchers at ETH Zurich are developing a new method to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. It involves molecules that become acidic when exposed to light. Their new process requires much less energy than conventional technologies.

ETH Zurich researchers from the Automatic Control Laboratory and the electricity supplier AEW Energie AG have won the 2024 Watt d’Or award in the Energy Technologies category. Their algorithm, which was implemented at AEW Energie, makes it possible to optimise electricity grid operations.

Climate neutrality and nuclear phase-out: Switzerland's ambitious green electricity targets are realistic if the electricity supply is profoundly and rapidly transformed, as a study by the SWEET EDGE consortium shows. The researchers developed three strategies for expanding renewable energies.

More and more people are afraid of climate change. For Cyril Brunner, this also has to do with how we talk about climate. We should focus less on problems and instead spend more time discussing solutions, suggests the climate researcher at the start of the year.

Snow measurement has never been so fast and accurate: ETH Zurich researchers have developed an artificial intelligence capable of determining snow depth across Switzerland using satellite images.

Capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and storing it either in recycled concrete aggregate or in geological reservoirs in Iceland is not only technically feasible, but also has a positive carbon footprint. These are the findings of a pilot project lead by ETH Zurich and commissioned by the Swiss confederation.

From the giant blue whale to minuscule microbes, all creatures on this earth continuously shed traces of their DNA. These clues help researchers to determine the degree of biological diversity.

What happens when cities gear their road space primarily to the needs of cyclists and e-bikers? On a new popular-science website, ETH researchers use examples from the city of Zurich to show what such an “E-Bike City” could one day look like.

A doctoral researcher studying architecture at ETH Zurich is using 3D printing to produce lightweight insulation building components from cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste. These could cut heating and cooling costs for buildings, and encourage more efficient use of construction materials.

ETH is offering a new continuing education programme in the serviceability and repairability of buildings and products. The CAS is backed by an architect, a product developer and a production technologist.

People living on the in low-lying coastal areas will be at even greater risk from cyclones in the future. Natural ecosystems offer protection, but this protection has decreased in recent years and is expected to continue to decline. This is a finding of a model study by an international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich.

ETH researchers are developing a low-carbon cement with a significantly lower embodied CO₂ content than traditional cement. The Ultra Green Concrete project aims to make low-carbon, high-performance concrete widely accessible.

In a practical teaching project, ETH students used materials from the demolished Huber Pavilions to construct a building in the spirit of the circular economy. The Re-Use Pavilion on the ETH Hönggerberg campus has now been honoured with an Arc Award.

Using a new 3D printing technique, researchers at ETH Zurich have developed special ceramic structures for a solar reactor. Initial experimental testing show that these structures can boost the production yield of solar fuels.

The Alps are being increasingly affected by floods and droughts. According to Manuela Brunner, we can do something about this problem: use water more sparingly and think about hazard protection in broader terms.

Turning unused waste from food production into clean energy: Researchers at ETH Zurich and Nanyang Technological University Singapore are using chicken feathers to make fuel cells more cost-effective and sustainable.

They set out to study the Congo Basin’s carbon cycle and in the process have become aware of one of the world’s darkest blackwater rivers: the Ruki. In the first study on this major jungle river, an international research team led by ETH Zurich explains how this blackness comes about and what it says about the river system’s carbon balance.

ETH Zurich is present at the Olma trade fair in St Gallen. Using spin-offs and games, the ETH booth illustrates how research can contribute to making Swiss food and agriculture sustainable.

ETH Professor Sonia Seneviratne has been elected as Vice-Chair of the Working Group I of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In order to take on this new responsibility, she is stepping down as Associate Vice President for Sustainability at ETH Zurich. In this interview she talks about her old and new positions.

Our oceans are acidifying rapidly. Climate researchers from ETH Zurich are now illustrating these chemical changes with colour-coded stripes. Global observations of ocean acidification over the last four decades serve as the basis.

Strategy games developed by ETH ecologists bring different stakeholders to the table. By shifting people’s perspectives, they create a win-win situation for environmental protection.

The risk of fatal heatwaves has risen sharply over the past 20 years. In the future, such extreme weather will become more frequent and heat-related excess mortality will increase. Europe will be particularly affected, as ETH Zurich researchers show.

The start-up Treeless Pack produces cellulose with microorganisms - entirely without wood. The cellulose can be used to produce paper, packaging material or composites for the construction industry in a resource-saving way.

For the first time, researchers combined human and ecological factors to analyse the global scale of non-native tree species invasions. Human activity in hotspots of global trade, such as maritime ports, is linked to an increased likelihood of non-native tree species invasions. However, a high diversity of native tree species can help to curb the intensity of such invasions.

ETH spin-off Gaia Tech transforms waste from olive oil production into high-quality antioxidants for use in cosmetics or food. This turns waste into valuable raw materials.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated the use of a specially coated metal mesh to harvest water from fog and simultaneously remove pollutants. People living in dry but foggy areas should benefit from this technology.

Microbiologists at ETH Zurich have developed computational models that use nutrients and metabolism of plant-associated bacteria to predict how the microbes interact on the surface of leaves and ultimately form the microbiome.

Trichodesmium, a common and ecologically important bacterium, fertilises nutrient-poor regions of the oceans and thereby enables higher life. Crucial to its success is its ability to form aggregates in order to react quickly to changes in its environment. ETH Zurich researchers have shown how the microbes organise themselves in this process.

When microorganisms break down organic material in the soil, they actively release CO₂ into the atmosphere. This process is called heterotrophic respiration. A novel model shows that these emissions could surge by up to 40 percent by the end of the century – most significantly in the polar regions.

Heavier rain, longer droughts, melting glaciers: climate change has a dramatic impact on the global water cycle.

Gabriela Hug – an expert in power transmission networks – argues that securing an affordable energy supply from renewable sources is not a utopian ideal for Switzerland, but rather a practical and feasible necessity.

The expansion of hydropower generation often leads to conflicts of interest, both in Switzerland and beyond. Researchers from ETH Zurich are trying to find a basis for compromise that serves the public interest.

During her doctoral studies, Liliane Ableitner developed a trading and billing tool for energy communities. Three years on, she is CEO of a flourishing start-up with 20 employees.

ETH Zurich researchers have found that droughts and land water variability have had an increasing effect on the carbon cycle in the tropics over the last sixty years. Most climate models fail to capture this observation. This could mean that terrestrial ecosystems could absorb less CO₂ than expected in their role as carbon sinks in the future.

Security of energy supply in a fossil-free Switzerland is feasible and affordable according to a new white paper from an expert group at the Energy Science Center. It will require increased production of renewables and efficient energy trading with neighbouring countries.

Bachelor’s students at ETH Zurich were given a year to turn their original ideas into finished products. ETH News presents videos of two of these projects.

Yesterday, Swiss President Alain Berset toured the Carbfix plant in Iceland and visited the facilities where the pilot project "DemoUpCARMA" is implemented. The project aims at injecting and storing CO₂ in the Icelandic underground. Marco Mazzotti, project coordinator and ETH Zurich professor, explains why Swiss CO₂ is being shipped all the way to Iceland.

To decarbonize our economy, electricity will replace oil and natural gas as the primary energy carrier. Where should that power come from? Many people argue that all of it should be produced domestically. Careful analysis suggests some share of it should be imported, says Anthony Patt.

Switzerland is monitoring its biological diversity as part of a global effort to understand its changes and prevent further biodiversity loss. Researchers from ETH Zurich are working on a pioneering pilot study that includes the analysis of genetic diversity of native species.

Political debate is vital for a functioning democracy. And when it comes to complex issues such as climate change, scientists should be able to share their expertise and help shape opinion, says Reto Knutti.

ETH students have developed sensors that can indicate how people use urban spaces. They anonymously measure how people use objects such as chairs in a public square. The sensors have proven useful in the test run and could be used in future to plan public spaces based on needs.

Increasing summer heat and drought are affecting European forests – some years, trees brown prematurely and some even start to die back. Researchers from ETH Zurich and the WSL are showing how exceptional weather conditions over several years are turning forests brown.

In the Forest Laboratory "Waldlabor" on Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich researchers investigate the storage and transport processes of water in the forest. Recently they showed that forest-floor litter and deadwood have a far larger influence on the forest water balance than expected.

A study by researchers at ETH Zurich shows for the first time how a relaxation of Swiss spatial planning policy would affect the locations of wind turbines. If the aim is to have as few wind turbines as possible in the Alps and in Switzerland in general, it would be worth considering using windy agricultural areas on the western Swiss Plateau.

In the video series "Ask the Expert", ETH Zurich experts answer questions from the community. In this edition, Maren Brehme provides information on the topic of geothermal energy.

A new study shows what it will take for the plastics industry to become completely sustainable: lots of recycling combined with the use of CO₂ from the air and biomass. It is also the image of plastics that need to change.

ETH Zurich political science researchers reveal that Swiss people are in favour of the circular economy and support measures to promote it. However, their personal willingness to contribute is low. 

Europe’s energy transition will not succeed without access to essential metals like rare earths, says security researcher Julian Kamasa. Responsible mining and recycling of critical raw materials could help Europe reduce dependence on imports and meet its climate targets.  

Many regions have suffered from heatwaves in recent years. But exactly how these form is still a matter of debate. Two researchers at ETH Zurich have now found a nuanced answer.

Whether rooftop solar panels are worth the cost is largely dependent in Switzerland on local compensation rates for solar power and on electricity prices in general – these are the findings of a study by researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Bern. Many power grid operators pay too little, thereby limiting the expansion of solar power.

A research collaboration led by ETH Zurich and MIT will receive a further USD 15 million from the New York-based Simons Foundation to investigate the behaviour of marine bacteria and microalgae. The research will focus on microbial communities that impact the ocean’s carbon cycle.

Efforts to restore degraded ecosystems have so far fallen short of meeting global targets. Sound restoration must better incorporate social processes promoting equity in order to effectively benefit people, climate and biodiversity, says Sara Löfqvist.

Until now, mountain regions have been largely spared from biological invasions. But a new monitoring study shows that alien plants are spreading rapidly to higher altitudes along transport routes worldwide.

ETH Zurich researchers have been able to show which genes inhibit self-fertilisation in grasses. Plant scientists can now use this mechanism in a more targeted way to breed new varieties of forage grasses as well as rice or barley.

There has been a great deal of media focus on the near-total lack of snow in Swiss ski resorts at the beginning of the year. Sonia Seneviratne explains why we will have to get used to this scenario and what needs to be done about it.

A new study by ETH Zurich researchers reveals that if Europe fails to immediately invest 302 billion euros in climate-relevant infrastructure, it will not reach its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Ukrainian building materials professor Viacheslav Troian left his homeland with his family because of the war. At ETH Zurich, he is researching the role that recycled concrete might play in future reconstruction.