Switzerland is dedicated to working with the U.S. on developing the innovation-based green technologies that will sustain our common prosperity. Switzerland was ranked the world’s most greenhouse-gas efficient economy (Yale and Columbia environmental performance index 2008).

The goal of the study trip is to establish a dialogue between U.S. and Swiss decision makers and opinion leaders, to advance the Swiss-American network and to showcase Switzerland’s excellence in the field of clean energy.

9 participants from all over the United States including renewable energy and energy efficiency experts, decision makers, leading administrators, representatives from private companies and public institutions, as well as universities will discuss best practices with Swiss opionion leaders and experts.

Highlights of the Program

Zürich - Bern - Neuchâtel - Lausanne

• Swiss Federal Office of Energy
• Swiss Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology, Swiss Federal Innovation Promotion Agency
• Integrated photovoltaic plant, Stade de Suisse, MINERGIE building
• Leading Technology for Solar Energy, 3S - Swiss Solar Systems
• Swiss Centre for Electronics and Micro technology (CSEM)
• A project to stimulate energy initiatives, The Holistic project, City of Neuchâtel
• Sustainable Campus, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL)
• Multidisciplinary research projects to develop sustainable energy production Energy Center, EPFL
• Recipient of European Energy Award gold, City of Lausanne
• Swiss Federal Railroads (SBB) on “The SBB and the environment.”
• Electric bicycle development and production factory Biketech
• Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials, Testing and Research, EMPA
• Pneumatic hybrid motor, Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, and Energy Science Centre, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ)

The Study Tour  -  Day by Day:

Atlantic Crossing and Warm-up
May 2

While the U.S. response personnel are fighting hard to protect the Southern shorelines after the terrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, all nine participants made it safely to rainy Zurich for a relaxed warm-up dinner over typical Swiss food – cheese, cheese and more cheese. All are up and ready for a week of interesting visits and a packed schedule.

This coming week, a diverse and exciting program will allow the delegation and their Swiss counterparts to exchange, network and connect dots to strenghten the ties between North American and Switzerland in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency. By now it is clear that new, cleaner, safer sources must be given priority in the years to come.

Little Sun - Lots of Solar
May 3

On this first official day of the study tour, the participants were plunged straight into energy theme with four different presentations in two different cities. Mr. Jean-Christophe Füeg, Head of International Energy Affairs at the Federal Office of Energy gave a highly interesting presentation on the Swiss energy sector. Some key take-aways were:
-Over 60% of total electricity production is sourced from hydro (dams and small)
-Renewable energy makes up 18.27% of total final energy consumption
-The Federal Council's Energy Strategy of 2007 is based on four pillars: 1. promotion of renewable energies, in particular biomass, heatpumps and solar;  2. an action plan for energy efficiency, most prominently with a large-scale building refurbishment program; 3. the expansion of large power plans such as nuclear and/or gas; and 4. strengthening international energy relations, particularly with the E.U.
Dr. Ingrid Kissling-Näf, Head of the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency CTI then complemented the policy view with her insights from working to promote entrepreneurship in Switzerland.

In the afternoon the delegation had a chance to visit the Stade de Suisse, Bern's soccer stadium with the world's largest solar roof. 
The last visit of the day took them to the town of Lyss, home to the company 3S Swiss Solar Systems, the technological world market leader for manual and semi-automatic production lines for solar module manufacture.

Micro and Macro: From Precision Technologies to Sustainable Buildings
May 4

This second day took the delegation on a journey to environmental solutions of all dimensions: from microtechnologies to holistic solutions to urban planning.

Representatives of the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), a non-profit institution that aims to bridge academic research and industry, highlighted some key projects in the renewables and energy efficiency field. The Center, which roots in the Neuchâtel region's watchmaking industry, partners with large industrial corporations such as Siemens and NASA to develop precision technologies to advance science and find solutions to environmental challenges. CSEM is the breeding ground for innovative solutions such as intelligent systems for comfort control that optimize the use of electricity, presence detection and automated lighting control, the much debated solar islands and, most recently, Swatch-founder Nicolas Hayek's latest invention in the green mobility space: a hydrogen-oxygen fuelled car.
To move the focus from micro dimensions to macro solutions to energy challenges, Dr. Anne-Claude Cosandey presented HOLISTIC, a Europe-wide project that brings together European cities in a concerted effort to create sustainable neighborhoods.

After an energizing and inspiring lunch with representatives from the CSEM and HOLISTIC, the tour bus took the delegation to Lausanne where we had the chance to visit EPFL's recently awarded sustainable campus, including the newly launched Rolex Learning Center designed by the famous Japanese SANAA architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. This building, a unique structure  that reminds of an Emmental cheese with its flowing floors, bridges, rounded windows and courtyards, hosts the campuses' main library, cafeterias, a high-end restaurant and offices. As part of EPFL's sustainable campus, it is flooded with natural light, automated climate control and shades, and heated with water of the Lac Léman through an elaborated heatpump system that services all campus facilities.

Tales of waste and wine
May 5

Unfortunately, the swift raindrops were once again our loyal companions on this morning's walk through the  first European city to be awarded the European Energy Award Gold for its achievements in sustainable development, Lausanne. One of the many infrastructure projects that contribute to Lausanne's claim to fame as an innovative city is the M2 automated metro system that links the lakeside to the higher altitude parts of town. Due to its rather unique geographic location on the shore of the Lac Léman, Lausanne stretches from 372m to 929m above sea level on a small surface of only 41.4km² or about 16 square miles - which poses particular challenges to city planning and transportation.

After a short metro ride up Lausanne's steep hills, the next stop was the waste incineration plant Tridel SA. A public-private partnership, Tridel recovers and incinerates post-recycling urban waste of the city of Lausanne and 144 towns and municipalities of the canton Vaud since 2007. Due to its location inside the city, Tridel had to come up with an innovative model to transport the waste to the plant, avoid smell and achieve maximal reduction of emissions. The waste is collected by trucks within the communities, loaded on to the Federal railroads and transported via a newly built underground train tunnel directly to the plant. This method keeps CO2 emissions from waste transportation low and avoids any interference with the city's traffic system.
Over a delicious lunch and local wine  in a beautiful historic building in the vineyards of the Lavaux, a UNESCO World Heritage since 2007, Vice-Mayor of Lausanne, Mr. Jean-Yves Pidoux, gave us an overview of the many initiatives that make Lausanne one of the most progressive cities in terms of environmental performance and sustainability. Under the umbrella of "Agenda 21", the city has vowed to reduce its environmental footprint and promote sustainable solutions according to the notion "Think global - Act local".

Back in Zurich, day four of the study tour ended with a lively dinner with many special guests at the traditional Zunfthaus zur Waag. Dr. Ruedi Kriesi, Head of Zehnder Group Technology and Vice-President of MINERGIE, the Swiss version of the U.S. LEED system, explained how we can best implement building standards that ensure efficient use of energy. His experience has shown that the emphasis must be put on gains in comfort and quality of life, and he insists that the main focus should move away from financial considerations.
Entrepreneur Anil Sethi gave a short presentation of the ETHZ spin-off Flisom, which aims to produce flexible thin-film solar cells with low-cost roll-to-roll manufacturing. Flisom got a particularly enthusiastic endorsement of our delegation member and solar expert Ken Zweibel, who emphasized that this technology is, indeed, one of the most promising in the market today.
Finally, Remo Estermann, CEO of the start-up company TEXX, gave a passionate introduction to the company's Battery Management System (BMS) for electric vehicles. Thanks to a novel and highly precise and efficient concept that allows for perfect adaptation of the charging characteristic, TEXX  BMS can significantly extend electric vehicles range compared to conventional systems.

Sustainable mobility - collective and individual
May 6

This Thursday predominantly covered the theme of mobility and took the delegation from Zurich to Olten to the picturesque Emmental to Dübendorf - indeed, a mobile day!
After a comfortable train ride to Olten, the main connecting axe between the cities of Bern, Basel and Zurich, Markus Halder of the Swiss Federal Railroads' (SBB CFF FFS) Environmental Center convincingly presented the advantages of SBB's electric railway system. Indeed, Swiss trains are four times more energy efficient than cars, and emit 20 times less CO2! Nonetheless, the SBB is facing many challenges in the coming years with an expected increase in demand of 130% in a transportation system that is already highly developed, coordinated and exploited.

After this, the delegation was delighted to visit the highly innovative and all around sustainable company electric bike company FLYER there - which won the Federal Office of Energy's prestigious Watt d'Or price in 2009 for its achievements in sustainability. Indeed, this highly dynamic company does not only produce a creative and energy efficient alternative to commonly used motorized vehicles, but its production plant is also a highly impressive MINERGIE labelled building: it is fully solar powered with a beautiful solar plant on its roof, and is heated with heat pumps using ground water.

The last visit of the day was at the Swiss Science and Technology Center (EMPA) in Dübendorf, an institute that is liked to Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (EPFL and ETHZ), the Swiss government, industry and SMEs, and national and international laboratories with a view to promote applied research, test materials and promote their transfer into the market place. A short tour took the delegation to the Center's hydrogen laboratory, as well as the solar energy laboratory, where Ken Zweibel was - once again - mentioned as one of the inspirational forces and main contributors to the recent breakthroughs in solar technology.

Overall, it was - once again - a highly inspiring day full of activity, fruitful discussion and cross-pollination between our American guests and our Swiss hosts!

Useful links:
Study Tour Website 
swissnex San Francisco
Swiss CleanTech Assocation