News & Highlights

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Russell McKenna

New Head of Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (LEA)

As of February 1st 2022, Russell McKenna joins the Paul Scherrer Institute’s Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (LEA) as head of the Laboratory. The position at PSI and the full professorship at ETHZ will enable him to combine his research with teaching activities. This optimally reinforces the cooperation between ETH Zurich and the two energy sectors, ENE and NES, of the PSI.

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Illustration Arik Beck

Optimization of catalyst performance to increase efficiency of methanol production

Many types of catalysts have been well known for decades, but the fundamental understanding as to why they work so well is still not quite clear. Without this understanding, an even more efficient catalyst cannot be developed, which is needed to reduce the global energy demand. Copper-zinc-alumina (CZA) is a popular catalyst and has been used for about 100 years, as it facilitates the production of the important chemical building block methanol, a molecule that enables the storage of hydrogen in a manner that minimizes negative impact on the carbon-dioxide footprint. Until 2021, scientists debated over the reason why the catalyst works so well. Understanding the reason behind this is vital in order to further develop even better ones. The copper-zinc-alumina (CZA) catalyst is assessed at the Laboratory for catalysis and sustainable chemistry (LSK) of the Paul Scherrer Institute.

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Imad El Haddad

Diagnostiquer l’asthme dans un souffle

Biologie Innovation santé Médecine

Le PSI participe au développement d’un test respiratoire, grâce auquel il devrait être possible de diagnostiquer l’asthme. Une interview avec Imad El Haddad.

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Figure 1: Schematic representation of different types of e-fuel production

E-fuels and electrification as complementary approaches to achieve climate target

Sustainable, synthetic fuels, so-called e-fuels, can help reduce CO₂ emissions. For their production, electricity from renewable sources is required in order to allow for a close to CO₂-neutral balance. The availability of electricity from renewable sources, which ensures the climate benefits of e-fuels, is currently still limited. “Especially in order to produce on a larger scale, a lot of renewable electricity is needed,” explains Christian Bauer, researcher at the Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (LEA) at PSI. 

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LAC scientists awarded Mariolopoulos Trust Fund Award 2022

The paper "Sources of particulate-matter air pollution and its oxidative potential in Europe" published in Nature by Kaspar Dällenbach and his team at the LAC has won the 2022 Mariolopoulos Trust Fund Award, along with another paper in the field of atmospheric environment. 

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Bernhard

"I could not imagine a better place to have done a PhD"

Bernhard Pribyl-Kranewitter, former PhD student at the Energy and Environment Division, shares with us a glimpse of his time at the Paul Scherrer Institute and where his path has led him. Currently, he works as a senior consultant at Kearney.

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PSI’s contribution to COVID-19 detection

One breath is all it takes to detect the COVID-19 infections using a new method developed by the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute. 

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