Swiss deep tech at the CES 2026

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, three start-ups that emerged from Empa will show how Swiss research is turning into market-ready hardware innovations for energy storage, photovoltaics and electronics cooling. The focus is on ultra-thin solid-state batteries, silent cooling technology for high-performance computers and printed perovskite solar cells.

BTRY presents a new class of ultra-thin solid-state lithium-ion batteries that have been developed for applications with extreme requirements in terms of height, safety and charging speed. The cells are available from a thickness of around 0.1 millimeters, can be fully charged in around one minute and function stably even at temperatures of up to around 150 degrees Celsius.

Thanks to their all-solid-state architecture, they do not require liquid electrolytes, making them less of a fire hazard and allowing very fast charging without additional buffer capacitors. Target markets are small networked devices such as smart labels, wireless sensors, wearables and medical technology applications, where conventional batteries are often too bulky or too slow.

Silent cooling for high-performance computers
Ionic Wind is showcasing a Lenovo ThinkPad T14 at CES that is cooled using solid-state ionic wind technology rather than a fan. Instead of mechanical fans, electric fields generate a directed airflow that dissipates heat without moving parts and virtually silently.

This technology turns air into an electrically controllable design parameter and opens up design scope for laptops, edge AI devices and compact electronics where conventional fans reach their limits. In addition to noise reduction, Ionic Wind promises greater reliability because it eliminates mechanical components that are prone to wear.

Printed perovskite solar cells
Perovskia Solar is continuing its presence at CES and showcasing inkjet-printed solar cells based on perovskite materials. The cells can be customized and integrated into a variety of electronic devices and sensors – such as small appliances, wearables or autonomous IoT sensors.

Perovskite solar cells are characterized by high efficiency at low manufacturing costs and great design freedom. The company demonstrates how energy generation can be integrated directly into device surfaces, which reduces the load on batteries and enables new, energy-autonomous applications.

Significance for Empa and Switzerland as a hardware location
The joint presence of BTRY, Ionic Wind and Perovskia Solar at CES shows that Empa is not only conducting basic research, but is increasingly producing deep-tech start-ups that are scaling up in global markets. The projects address areas in which incremental improvements are reaching their limits, such as battery technology, electronic cooling and photovoltaics.

Empa and Switzerland are thus distinguishing themselves as a location for hardware innovations that flow directly into industrial applications. The start-ups combine scientific excellence with international visibility, customer validation and global growth ambitions, shifting the focus from “research in the lab” to “products on the world stage”.

Quelle EMPA