Building the future together

The mission of EPFL Energy Center (CEN) is to promote energy research led by EPFL, by challenging state-of-the-art technologies and addressing society’s challenges together to shape tomorrow’s energy system.

Key figures

90

Laboratories

9

Centers

6

Faculties

4

Campuses

Outreach

CEN interacts closely with EPFL’s laboratories and startups to address current and future challenges of the energy sector. It serves as an entry point for individuals and companies searching for world-class education and competence in energy research and technology.

Outreach

CEN is EPFL’s interface between its energy research laboratories and the public, companies and investors. Its role is to inform about the latest developements in energy research at EPFL, establish the link with competent laboratories and support the development of collaboration projects.

Energy Sectors

EPFL’s research in energy encompasses the five sectors: efficiency, conversion, storage, systems, and society. Take a tour of the labs!

Efficiency

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), efficiency policies could enable the world to achieve more than 40% of the emissions cuts needed to reach its climate goals without new technology. At EPFL, energy efficiency research covers a vast number of aspects such as power-to-gaz and cogeneration, building design, industrial separation processes, small scale turbomachinery, (…)

Storage

Energy storage is the biggest challenge drawn by the transformation of the energy system. The shift from fissile and fossil fuels to renewable energy carriers imply the development of affordable storage systems at an unprecendented scale. EPFL laboratories address energy storage from fundamental to applied research, including materials theory and simulation, metal organic frameworks, and (…)

Systems

Along with decentralization and decarbonization, digitalization is the third “D” describing the current worldwide energy transition. Using the campus as a grid laboratory, EPFL researchers develop breakthrough technologies for the electrical grid control and stabilization. For instance, the digitalization of hydropower generation is investigated in large international and interdisciplinary projects and the continent’s energy system (…)

Society

The energy system is not only a connected collection of physical and chemical devices. Society, e.g. human beings, is at the heart of it. New energy technologies must be acceptable, manageable, and affordable. To make it most effective and complete, energy research at EPFL fully embraces topics such human-environment interactions, urban sociology and economics, and (…)

News

Discover the energy news of EPFL.

There is now more family resemblance between both EPF's. © EPFL / Marc Borboen

ETH Zurich's turn to unveil a new logo

News
EPFL

ETH Zurich has just completed its own rebranding project, drawing inspiration from the new logo that EPFL introduced a year ago. The similar look reflects a desire by the sister schools to build closer ties.

Explaining the synchronized chaos of atoms in three minutes

13.03.20NewsResearch

The fifth annual My Thesis in 180 Seconds competition was held behind closed doors last night because of the coronavirus. Out of a high-caliber field, two PhD students from the same laboratory took first and second place and will now go on to the national final.

Introducing the light-operated hard drives of tomorrow

10.03.20NewsResearch

What do you get when you place a thin film of perovkite material used in solar cells on top of a magnetic substrate? More efficient hard drive technology. EPFL physicist László Forró and his team pave the way for the future of data storage.

All news

Education

EPFL Energy Center contributes to the development of a coherent education program in energy at EPFL, including the traditional bachelor, master and PhD education programs. It also designs and organizes tailored education programs such as summer schools, MOOCs and executive training in energy.