Energy and environmental technologies

Technology for future generations

Environmental technology is one of the many core strengths of the GREATER GENEVA BERNE area (GGBa). Green issues enjoy worldwide support now, but they have been a matter of principle for years in Switzerland, where strict but progressive environmental legislation decided in consultation with business has been a catalyst for research.

Because of this historical environmental focus – and the high regard for research generally – companies relocating to the GGBa will find innumerable partnership opportunities in this expanding sector. The GGBa has world-leading academic and applied skills in areas such as waste treatment and recycling, power generation and recovery, equipment for the solar industry, low-emission mobility, energy-efficient construction, hydraulic energy, smart grid digital technology, industrial ecology (IE), water and air control systems and purification.

sustained enthusiasm for green energy

With relatively few traditional energy resources of its own, Switzerland and the GGBa also lead the way in myriad sustainable energy options: solar power, wind turbines, biomass, bio-diesel, bio-gas, thermal engineering and hydraulics. The enormous growth potential of these areas is highlighted by the fact that energy needs are rising at 2% a year. Moreover, federal energy legislation calls for 50% of Swiss energy to be produced by renewable sources by 2030. In the GGBa cantons Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Vaud, power utility Groupe E plans to generate an additional 10 million kWh of electricity every year from new renewables.

a powerful ally in the GGBa

The GGBa’s cantons have devoted significant resources to energy and environmental technologies through numerous leading research centers, such as the Energy Center of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL), the Ecotechnology section of Vaud School of Business and Engineering (HEIG-VD), the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), the Auto Motive Engineering Department of Berne University of Applied Sciences (HES-BE) and the Engineering School’s Institute for Construction and Environment at Fribourg University of Applied Sciences (HES-FR).

The region maintains numerous incubators and technology parks with state-of-the-art facilities to promote innovative products and services in energy and environmental technologies. These include Orbe Environmental Technology Center in Vaud and BlueArk in Valais. As a result, many pioneering small companies and spin-offs are cultivated here. Valais, a GGBa canton traditionally known for its hydraulic energy and aluminium production, is increasingly turning its focus to modern renewable energies. Indeed, the canton has joined forces with the canton of Fribourg to manage a new “Cleantech” cluster, the brainchild of the Conference of Western Switzerland’s energy chiefs (CDPE-SO) to promote renewables throughout the GGBa in much the same way as the region’s other industry-specific networks: BioAlps (life sciences), Micronarc (micronanotechnology) and Alp ICT (information and communication technologies).

The GGBa is also home to the International Federation of Green Regions Association (IFGRA) (www.ifgra.org), which collaborates closely with other specialist GGBa and supra-GGBa organizations responsible for technology and knowledge transfer for ecological solutions. These include the Energy Cluster (www.energie-cluster.ch), which pools the findings of 100 researchers and collaborates with its 200 members to develop more efficient products and services; the association for the development of Renewable energy (www.ader.ch), the Center for Environmental Technology: (www.zut.ch) and the Association for the Promotion of Renewable Energy (www.aper.ch).

Armed with this invaluable support network in the GGBa, it is no wonder that so many companies are enjoying such growth, including Applied Materials, Meyer Burger, Sputnik, Sunpower Systems, DuPont, Oerlikon Solar, VHF Technologies (Flexcell) and Frewitt.