Tag Archives: Sci & Tech

Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich is one of the most upmarket shopping streets in the world. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) A building on Zurich’s most exclusive shopping street has been converted into a blockchain-powered investment following its CHF130 million ($134 million) sale. It is the latest attempt to unlock the value of bricks and mortar using digitally-coded tokens. Bahnhofstrasse 52, which houses offices and a Swatch retail outlet, was bought by Zug-based real estate...

Looks amazingly similar to a real nugget: 18-​carat gold with latex as the base material. ( ETH Zurich / Peter Rüegg) Five years ago researchers at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich developed the lightest gold in the world, which could float on a cappuccino. But there wasn’t much they could do with it. Now they have created 18-carat light gold which can be used for watches, jewellery and electronics. It is based on a plastic matrix that replaces metallic...

Early bird WEF delegates will be learning about blockchain in the ski resort of St Moritz. (Keystone / Martin Ruetschi) Global politicians, regulators, financiers and technology pioneers will soon be gathering in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. This has not been lost on the blockchain and crypto industry, which is redoubling efforts to engage with policy makers. Next week’s Crypto Finance Conferenceexternal link (CfC), in the up-market ski resort of St...

The methanation gas containers at Regio Energie Solothurn (Keystone) Flatulent bacteria, electric vehicles and a supply network for greenhouses are among the winners of this year’s Watt d’Or competitionexternal link organised by the Federal Office of Energy. “What is the link between flatulence and renewable energy?” the energy office asked. “The answer is Archie, the farting archaeobacteria.” Archie picked up the award in the “renewable energy” category, presented...

The first commercial prototype from Energy Vault is 60 metres tall and will be built next year. (Energy Vault) Stacking blocks of concrete with a crane to store energy and use the force of gravity to keep producing electricity when renewable sources are lacking: simple but revolutionary, the battery solution proposed by the Ticino start-up Energy Vault is attracting investors and customers from around the world.  What do we do when there is no sun or wind? Energy...

The drive for financial innovation shows no sign of slacking in 2020. (Keystone/ Valentin Flauraud) It was a busy 2019 for Swiss fintech and there is promise for more to come in 2020. Here’s a round-up of fintech past and my observations of how things may shape up in the coming months. Licenses The year 2019 started with the arrival of a new breed of Fintech banking license, designed to allow small financial players to accept up to CHF100 million in deposits, but...

Leibstadt was built in 1984 and is one of four nuclear power stations in Switzerland (Keystone) The Leibstadt nuclear power station in northern Switzerland has been disconnected from the power grid and shut down because of a technical fault. Once the cause has been clarified, the plant will be put back into operation as soon as possible, the operator said. It is not clear when that will be. The shutdown at Leibstadt – built in 1984 and one of four nuclear power...

Swiss lawmakers have been tasked with getting the new furniture to fit into the financial and corporate landscape. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) The Swiss parliament will soon get to grips with merging the current financial system with new blockchain architecture. This is a bit like refitting your whole house to make sure the swanky new furniture and fittings blend in. Switzerland has deliberately chosen to not to tear the whole house down and build it again in a new...

(© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) With 10,329 registrations so far this year, Switzerland and Liechtenstein have more new electric passenger cars than ever before. This is the first time the total hit the five-figure mark. The numbers reflect a 136.6% increase over last year’s fleet of new, completely electric passenger cars. What’s more, now e-cars represent 3.7% of all new cars in Switzerland and the principality next door, reported importer association Auto-Schweiz on...

Blockchain promises to touch many parts of our lives, but how do we touch it? Blockchain: the very name fascinates and bamboozles in equal measure. Although businesses based around the technology are popping up all over Switzerland, many still wonder what exactly it does and how it can improve their lives. The potential possibilities are myriad, yet many still appear tantalisingly out of reach. After asking readers to pose their questions about blockchain, we’ve...