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Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
"You can't say no to everything": Nathalie Casas comments on the Axpo report
Switzerland is faced with an urgent question: where will the electricity come from in winter if nuclear power plants are taken off the grid and consumption increases due to heat pumps and electromobility? A recent report by Axpo paints a serious picture and outlines two possible scenarios. Wind and gas or new nuclear power plants. In an interview with SATW, Dr Nathalie Casas, Head of the Department of Energy, Mobility and Environment at Empa and new member of SATW, analyses the findings. She concludes: "All technologies have their challenges. If you decide against one technology, you have to decide in favour of another.
Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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A direct link to space
In future, satellites are set not only to provide internet access to remote homes, but also to communicate directly with ordinary smartphones. Direct-to-Cell could close mobile dead spots and make communication networks more resilient to crises. However, the path from mobile phones to space poses technical challenges – and raises questions about security and digital sovereignty.Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences SAMS
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Digital surveillance: new factsheet on data protection
Digital surveillance systems raise fundamental medical-ethical and legal questions, particularly where audio and video surveillance is used. In May 2026, the Central Ethics Committee (CEC) of the SAMS published a position statement on this topic. The factsheet «Überwachung von betreuten Personen», published in September, provides more detailed information on the technical and data-protection aspects of digital surveillance, thereby complementing the CEC’s medical-ethical perspective.
Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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Biomanufacturing in the future – learn from the past?
When modern biotechnology began to emerge in Switzerland in the late 1970s and early 1980s, no biotech start-up ecosystem existed. However, Switzerland already had something that is difficult to find today: an open pilot facility where biological processes could be taken from the laboratory to the cubic-meter scale. To tackle current scale-up challenges, we thus might learn something from the past.