Empa CEO Gian-Luca Bona on the opportunities and risks of digitalization - and the question as to how a materials research institute needs to gear itself up for this future. Which IT project at Empa do you find the most fascinating?

Solar systems on the roofs of residential buildings often produce energy precisely when the tenants can't actually use it. Stationary batteries enable this energy to be utilized in the evening, at night or on a rainy day.

Fungi that decompose tree trunks can conjure up real works of art in wood. In nature, however, the decay-causing fungi not only decorate the tree, but also destroy it.

The new head of Empa's Cellulose & Wood Materials lab, Gustav Nyström, has taken everyone by surprise by setting unconventional goals. However, paper batteries and nanocellulose sensors have one main objective: to help solve fundamental, socially relevant questions.

Can you cool with waste heat? Sure. A Swiss research project involving Empa, which ended in November, demonstrated this in an impressive way. Now a large-scale EU project is starting: industrial cooling - thanks to the Spanish sun.

Diesel vans are dirtier in winter than many know: Where there are still gaps in emissions legislation, soot particles and nitrogen oxides (NOx) continue to be produced.