Energy and Environment Research Division
Research at PSI comprises all aspects of human energy use, with the ultimate goal of promoting development towards a sustainable energy supply system. Technologies are being advanced for the utilization of renewable energy sources, low-loss energy storage, efficient conversion, and low emission energy use. Experimental and model-based assessment of these emissions forms the basis of a comprehensive assessment of economic, environmental and social consequences, for both present and future energy supply systems.
Division Head: Prof. Dr. Thomas Justus Schmidt
Energy Briefing Event 2022
On June 28th, 2022, the Energy Divisions (ENE and NES) at PSI hosted their first Energy Briefing Event at the Kursaal in Bern. Knowledgeable voices from industry, research and government shared insights in a dialogue on the feasibility of the Net Zero goal and what next steps are required to achieve this collectively.
A big thank you to Daniela Decurtins (GazEnergy), Particia Sandmeier (Hitachi Energy), Martin Naef (ABB), Pascal Previdoli (BFE), Thomas Schmidt (PSI), Christian Verhoeven (GE), Peter Richner (Empa), Andreas Pautz (PSI) and our Moderator Stephan Lendi for their valuable contributions and insights!
Highlights & News
Marco Ranocchiari takes on the lead of the ESI project as of July 1st, 2022!
«I am very excited to lead a strategic project and the extraordinarily competent and innovative ESI team for PSI, to help contribute to the transition to net zero.»
European map of aerosol pollution can help improve human health
Researchers have measured and determined the sources of aerosol pollution at 22 locations in Europe.
Power-to-gas system for energy independence
New technology provides synthetic natural gas for domestic heating
Atmospheric globe-trotters
The CLOUD experiment reveals a new mechanism by which atmospheric particles form. The particles rapidly travel the world, globally impacting cloud formation and climate.
Deep learning to avoid weather disappointments
Saharan dust storms played havoc with weather predictions. Invertible neural networks to retrieve aerosol properties from light scattering data may help.
Light amplification accelerates chemical reactions in aerosols
Together with colleagues at ETH Zürich, Peter Alpert and Markus Ammann have directly imaged where light was amplified and where it was not inside photochemically active particles using X-ray spectromicroscopy.
Rescuing Earth’s icy memory
An international research team with PSI participation is rushing to preserve glacier ice for posterity.
Scientists map Arctic aerosols to better understand regional warming
In order to better understand climate change in the Arctic and design effective mitigation measures, scientists at EPFL and PSI have studied the aerosols in a region spanning from Russia to Canada.
“More objectivity would be helpful”
The energy debate needs to be based more on facts and less on gut feeling, according to renewables expert Thomas J. Schmidt and nuclear energy specialist Andreas Pautz.
