Michael Braungart is the enfant terrible of environmentalists. Be it recycling or climate neutrality – the initiator of the cradle to cradle principle takes a tough stance on conventional approaches. An interview about climate-positive products, tire abrasion, and synthetic plankton.

Empa researchers have tracked viruses as they pass through face masks and compared their failure on the filter layers of different types of masks. The new method should now accelerate the development of surfaces that can kill viruses.

Researchers are working on the next generation of a VR glove that makes virtual worlds tangible in the Metaverse. The glove is to be customised to the user and can be produced largely automatically - using the 3D printing process.

In the mid-20th century, Biel bore the title “city of the future”. However, since the decline of the watchmaking industry, the city has lost much of its glamour and now regularly makes negative headlines. Two citizens of Biel want to change this. Their vision: An urban ropeway to trigger the transformation to a green, social, and smart city. So that by 2030, Biel can once again live up to its former title.

Shipping leaves a large ecological footprint: the propulsion engines are largely dependent on energy sources that produce climate-damaging CO2 when burnt. In addition to hydrogen and methanol, ammonia is also considered a more climate-friendly substitute fuel.

Cobalt-based catalysts could be used to turn mixed plastic waste into fuel, new plastics and other products.

A team of Empa researchers has developed a disposable paper battery that works with metallic inks and salt - activated by a drop of water. This could be used to power a wide range of small disposable electronic devices with low power consumption.

Danes cycle about 1.6 kilometres every day. If everyone cycled that much, 414 tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved every year. That is equivalent to the UK's annual CO2 emissions.

The number of devices transmitting data, for example in transport logistics, will increase sharply in the future. But the amount of batteries needed for this would have an enormous impact on the environment. A compostable mini-capacitor could solve the problem.

The larvae of a species of beetle native to Central and South America can apparently survive with plastic as their only food source. The larvae's appetite for Styrofoam could be the key to mass plastic recycling.