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The Swiss Federal Office for Energy and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment have launched the first call for proposals under a new financing instrument targeting projects focused on energy- and resource-efficient industrial processes.
Known as Swiss Research for the Energy Transition and Emissions Reduction (Sweeter), the funding call has a budget of just under CHF 12 million ($15.3 million).
The call for proposals includes two research priorities, one of which concerns the circular economy with regard to solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and electrolyzers. It emphasizes the reuse, repurposing, remanufacturing and recycling of these components, with an emphasis on using materials as efficiently as possible, recovering valuable substances and reducing environmental impact.
The other research area covered by Sweeter is the decarbonization and optimization of high-temperature processes for which no viable commercial solutions currently exist and still require work to transition from fossil energy carriers.
The Swiss government website further states that two consortia with the highest ranked pre-proposals will be invited to submit a full application. Funding will be provided to consortium projects focusing on central research themes of the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 and the long-term climate strategy, further details added. Successful consortia are expected to begin project work in August 2027 and receive funding to be distributed over a period of two to three years.
The deadline for submitting preliminary applications is June 30. More information can be found in the programs calling guidelines.
The Swiss grid operator Swissgrid recently introduced a white paper detailing how Switzerland plans to integrate up to 40 GW of solar energy by 2050. The country’s solar additions by 2025 are estimated at 1.52 GW.
Earlier this month, ESS news spoke to Swiss startup Evolium Technologies about its subscription-based business model that offers residential battery owners a lifetime warranty second life batteries.
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