Strong commitment of the industry for green energy storage
At the networking lunch in Interlaken, prominent representatives from the industry, politics and academia voiced their strong support for the Coalition for Green Energy and Storage (CGES), an initiative by the ETH Domain. Progress was reported on three megawatt-demonstrator projects in various cantons, as well as on membership. CGES was proud to welcome many senior leaders including representatives of several members, as well as their premium members BKW and Tech Cluster Zug. The non-profit organisation is seeking to expand its membership to intensify the exchange amongst all stakeholders to jointly accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy system.
Prominent panellists calling for collaboration
The President of the Board of CGES, ETH President Joël Mesot welcomed all participants and introduced why this initiative of the ETH Domain was founded and what his vision is.
A group of prominent representatives from the industry, politics and academia to the panel was welcomed by Jeannine Pilloud, Advisor to the Board of CGES and in her role as the moderator of the panel.
Several industry leaders were on the panel: Marie Icardo, Managing and Customer Director, Alstom Switzerland, Christoph Brand, CEO Axpo Group, Marija Zima-Bockarjova, Global Head of Research Operations, Hitachi Energy, and Heinz Buhofer, President Tech Cluster Zug.
Christophe Darbellay, State Councillor Canton Valais and Roger Nordmann, Former Member of the National Council of Switzerland represented the political arena. In addition, Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, the new President of EPFL and member of the Board of Directors of CGES took place on the panel speaking for the world of academia.
A clear appeal was made by Christophe Darbellay: “CGES has an important role and must attract more players with the same goal.” On the other hand, the industry appealed not to ignore the commercial aspect. “We need sustainable solutions which also work from an economic point of view” said Christoph Brand. Whilst all the panellists voiced their strong support for the initiative by the ETH Domain, Prof. Anna Fontcuberta i Morral summed it up very aptly: “Together we can.”
Megawatt demonstrator projects to test existing technologies
Progress has been made on megawatt demonstrators, so called catapult projects. Christoph Sutter, Director of CGES, presented four projects, three in the area of sustainable synthetic fuels and one in solid waste energy storage.
The first catapult is exploring E-methanol synthesis and storage in Zug, demonstrating a flexible synthesis process as a first step to scale up to a much larger plant in the earth’s sun belt. Discussions with the canton of Zug as a key investor and partners including Axpo Group and the Tech Cluster Zug are advancing well.
The second and third catapult are assessing E-methane production. One project is located in Wöschnau near Aarau where enough space for an extension and R&D plants is available. The other one is located at an industrial site in Chablais, Wallis, which is under development by Alpiq and other partners.
The fourth demonstrator in Cottendart, Neuchatel is examining solid waste energy storage. Non-recyclable waste and biomass is converted into heat, electricity, hydrogen and methane using ultra-high temperature hydrolysis and biochar for negative emissions. A feasibility study is completed, several partners are on board, and a project decision is expected in Q3 this year.
Further development work is needed for all projects to bring them to the final investment decision. CGES is supporting the various project developers to reach that point as swiftly as possible.
Become a member now
CGES was proud to welcome several industry leaders of current members of CGES: BKW and Tech Cluster Zug as premium members; Swiss International Airlines, Swiss Gas Industry Association, Alpiq, Axpo Group, and AMAG Group as members. A call to action was made for all the representatives present: Join the association now to shape the discussion and tangible catapults for Switzerland’s future energy system. Together we can.
Save-the-date CGES Networking Day
Prof. Joël Mesot announced the next meeting point and invited to attend the CGES Networking Day on Friday, 21st November, 14:00 – 17:00 at Swissgrid in Aarau. Mark your calendars, more information will follow.
The President of CGES thanked all the participants for their attendance and especially the panellists for their open exchange and active involvement.
