Renewable Energy

Private investors allocate more money to green mutual funds if they receive an education about sustainable finance. We designed a crash course in sustainable investing and showed its power to help individuals align their values with their money.

Energetica is an open-source, web-based multiplayer game that makes exploring the complexities of energy systems both engaging and entertaining. Players must make strategic decisions while facing real-world challenges such as market fluctuations, climate impacts, and limited resources. By combining fun gameplay with educational value, Energetica fosters critical thinking and collaboration, aiming to spark informed discussions…

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Switzerland anticipates significantly expanding solar photovoltaics and electrifying heating and transport, coinciding with the country’s aimed nuclear phase-out. However, this development creates a seasonal imbalance, with high summer electricity generation but peak demand in winter. Our study investigates the role of power-to-gas technology as a potential solution, which converts…

Cities and their urban transformations are critical to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our new research shows that European cities tend to prioritize environmental and technical issues, such as biodiversity or transportation, while their residents prefer issues linked to their everyday socio-economic needs, such as cost of living or public health. The findings are highly…

As climate change accelerates and CO2 emissions reductions alone prove insufficient to meet climate targets, carbon removal has become essential for tackling hard-to-abate emissions. However, deploying carbon removal at scale presents a critical challenge for governments: How can they ensure it is both effective and affordable enough to secure public support? We show that this…

A significant amount of electricity is required to keep trams and buses warm during the winter. How can we reduce this excessive energy consumption? As part of the EnergyNow! 2.0 Impact Accelerator Program, TempTrim was developed as a tool to quantify potential energy savings from adjusting vehicle temperature settings. This project garnered the Audience Award…

Firm renewable electricity, fast decarbonization of (industrial) heating – these are all fields where geothermal energy is increasingly considered as a solution. This article examines the challenges in geothermal energy, explains current and upcoming technologies, and why the industry could be up for rapid expansion.

Electricity autarky is a sensitive topic in Swiss politics, with electricity supply in winter often being the centre of attention. The bill on a secure electricity supply, voted on June 9, 2024, introduced a new provision aiming to limit net winter electricity imports to current levels as Switzerland transitions. In a recent study, we delved…

While technologies to trap and store CO2 underground may give a license to fossil fuels to survive in a net-zero emissions world, in this opinion piece we argue that this is economically irrational and a risky gamble, calling for clear phase-outs of fossil fuels.

The time to commission and install new renewable energy projects has increased over the past decade. In short, we are building slower. Here, we explore factors that have affected timelines and suggest how to accelerate climate action.