6 MARS – CONFERENCES

Sustainability is an integral component of the strategic priorities of our School. In 2023, EPFL launched “Solutions for Sustainability”, an ambitious initiative to create demonstrators on our campuses that will lead to solutions ready for scale-up. In parallel, long-term efforts are pursued in the areas of Energy Transition, Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change.

This conference will highlight the diversity and complementatiry of research projects, in a highly interactive format. Updates of research projects will be followed by moderated rountables allowing ample time for discussions and debates.

12:30pm – 12:40pm
Welcome notes and Introduction

• Prof. Ambrogio Fasoli, Vice President and Provost

12:40pm – 1:15pm
SESSION I: ENERGY TRANSITION

• Prof. Mario Paolone, “Reimagining Data Centers as Energy Assets: the EPFL HeatingBits project”
• Prof. Chris Moser, “Decarbonization toward electrical self-reliance at EPFL”
• Moderated roundtable discussion

1:15pm – 1:50pm
SESSION II: TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE NEUTRALITY

• Prof. Josie Hugues, “Robotics for Improving the Circularity of Food Systems” 
• Prof. Kumar Agrawal, “From Lab to Plant: Scaling Disruptive CCUS Technologies at EPFL” 
• Moderated roundtable discussion

1:50pm – 2:25pm
SESSION III: LAND AND SOIL HEALTH

• Prof. Ianina Altshuler, “Soil ecosystem services and microbe-mediate greenhouse gas fluxes”
• Prof. Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, “Can soil microbes control arsenic accumulation in rice?”
• Moderated roundtable discussion

2:25pm – 2:30pm
Concluding remarks

Co-organized by the Vice Presidency for strategic initiatives (VPS) and EPFL’s Center for Wordwide Sustainable Construction (CWSC), this forum serves as a platform for dialogue between EPFL’s research labs, startups from its innovation ecosystem, industries and governmental agencies, around the issues of sustainable construction and urban development.

RATIONAL

The construction and urban development sectors stand at the center of the global sustainability transition. Buildings and infrastructure shape how we live, move, and consume resources. They also represent one of the largest sources of material use, energy demand, and carbon emissions worldwide.

As cities expand and societies face increasing pressure to decarbonize, the challenge is no longer incremental improvement, but systemic transformation: rethinking how we design, build, select materials, and develop urban environments from the ground up.

This collider will explore how innovative building materials, circular construction approaches, and forward-looking urban development strategies can dramatically reduce environmental impact while enhancing performance, resilience, and quality of life.

Through expert presentations and a multidisciplinary roundtable, participants will examine how research, industry, and public stakeholders can collaborate to accelerate the adoption of sustainable construction solutions, moving from laboratory breakthroughs to real-world implementation at scale.

3pm – 3:05pm
Welcome notes & Introduction

• Prof. Katrin Beyer, Dean School of Architecture, Civil & Environmental Engineering

3:05pm – 4:30pm

• Prof. Karen Scrivener, Laboratory of Construction Materials
• Prof. David Ruggiero, Concrete Behaviour and Structural Design Laboratory
• Prof. Gabriele Manoli, Laboratory of Urban and Environmental Systems
• Dr François Girod, Head of Circular Economy, Holcim (Suisse) SA
• Short pitches by startups and organisations 
  • GBDI, Dr Zuhaib Batra
  • Coopérative Origo, Mélanie Lutz and Mattia Pretolani
  • SEPAR, Artem Polsky

4:30pm – 5pm
Panel discussion

• Moderated by: Anne Dekeukelaere, Executive Director Centre for Worldwide Sustainable Construction

5pm – 5:05pm 
Synthesis and Key message

• Dr Frédéric Dreyer, Vice-presidency for Innovation and Impact & ENAC

5pm – 6pm
Cocktail reception – Poster presentations – Networking