Empa Annual Report 2025: Agility for the research of the future
Dübendorf, 21.04.2026 — How does research turn into innovation? Empa provides the answers in its recently published 2025 Annual Report. In it, researchers demonstrate how their work leads to concrete solutions: For example, they are investigating whether nanoparticles can fight cancer and examining how concrete can contribute to climate protection. They are making batteries from fungi. And they are using AI to manage power grids more efficiently. The Empa Annual Report highlights these developments – this year, for the first time, entirely in digital form.
Agility is shaping our work more than ever: global challenges are transforming society and the economy at a rapid pace. Climate change, the energy transition, geopolitical tensions and an ageing population demand new approaches. Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are accelerating this change. The issue of security is also gaining in importance, for example in relation to our infrastructure and energy supply. Empa is responding to this with focused research and clear objectives: we identify trends at an early stage, incorporate societal issues into our considerations and take responsibility into account.
2025 was a strong year for Empa: we strengthened existing initiatives and launched numerous new projects. As part of our ‘Design for Re-Use’ initiative, for example, we researched self-healing lithium-ion batteries, the reuse and repurposing of existing infrastructure, and the recycling of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics. Successful fundraising enabled additional PhD and postdoc positions; our demonstrators, such as the NEST research and innovation building, brought innovations into real-world environments; and successful spin-offs and technology transfer projects had a tangible impact on the economy. Furthermore, we strengthened our ‘impact’ through national and international partnerships. Agility remains our guiding principle – today and, of course, in the future.
Curious to find out more? Discover the 2025 Annual Report at empa.ch/2025 and learn how our research is making a difference.