Digging deeper

Digitalizing hydropower

Published:16.09.20 — With increasing levels of variable renewables in the energy system, new opportunities emerge for hydropower as a provider of flexibility services in modern power markets. To address this question, EPFL is leading a consortium of 18 Swiss and European partners collaborating within the frame of the XFLEX project (Hydropower Extending Power System Flexibility). This project has received € 15 million funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857832.

XFLEX HYDRO – Press Release

Published:16.12.19 — 10 December 2019 – A major new energy innovation project to demonstrate how smart hydropower technologies can deliver a low-carbon, reliable and resilient power system was launched today. The €18 million initiative was announced by the European Commission and a consortium of 19 partners at the United Nations climate change conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain. It will show how innovative and flexible hydropower systems can help countries across the world meet their renewable energy targets

Exhibition ʺPlaces of Hopeʺ

Published:30.05.18 — The Ecoparc neighbourhood in Neuchâtel, developed by the architectural and urban design firm Bauart of which Prof. Emmanuel Rey, head of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), is one of the partners, is among the international selection of the exhibition ʺPlaces of Hopeʺ in Leeuwarden (NL), European Capital of Culture in 2018.

EPFL analyzes the economic impact of three energy-transition scenario

Published:28.05.18 — A handful of EPFL laboratories teamed up to compare three energy-transition scenarios that vary in their use of fossil fuels and renewable energy and their energy efficiency. The study found that greater use of renewable energy, combined with more measures to enhance energy efficiency, would create more jobs in Switzerland and increase the country's energy independence without having any impact on the overall cost.

Urban Growth International Conference in Alicante

Published:28.05.18 — The International Conference on Urban Growth and the Circular Economy was organized on 8-10th May 2018 in Alicante, Spain. On this occasion, Judith Drouilles, PhD student at the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) presented some issues of her doctoral research dedicated to the sustainability transition of peri-urban neighborhoods of single-family houses by 2050. This work is part of the Living Peripheries research project, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

What is at stake regarding Low Carbon Housing ?

Published:22.05.18 — The results of the research project “ Low Carbon Housing ”, lead together by the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) and the Building 2050 Research Groupof the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), were presented in a seminar at the Smart Living Lab in Fribourg.

Publication of the book « Bâtir pour la mobilité durable »

Published:22.05.18 — On the occasion of the EPFL Bike Center inauguration, the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) publishes a book entitled "Bâtir pour la mobilité durable”, which retraces the stages of this unprecedented approach, from student competition to completion.

Inauguration in Fribourg of the Swiss solar house NeighborHub

Published:22.05.18 — The official inauguration of the NeighborHub takes place in Fribourg today, 26th April, in the presence of the President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard. The NeighborHub opens its doors to the public on 28 and 29 April.

Designing urban energy systems based on the urban climate

Published:22.05.18 — As cities grow at an ever-faster pace, concerns about global warming rise and fossil fuels become increasingly scarce, cities will have to adopt more sustainable energy solutions. EPFL researchers have developed a model that can be used to design urban energy systems by analyzing the building not as a standalone structure but as one piece in an urban puzzle.

Two ERC Advanced Grants go to researchers at ENAC

Published:22.05.18 — Professor Lyesse Laloui, in civil engineering, and Professor Anders Meibom, in environmental engineering, were awarded an ERC Advanced Grant, the most prestigious European grants to individual researchers.