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ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT A cutting-edge industry of the canton of Vaud 2 VAUD ECONOMIC PROMOTION / ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT GREEN TECHNOLOGIES COMING TO THE CANTON OF VAUD The canton of Vaud is a center of excellence for the research and development of clean technologies. The region boasts cutting-edge skills – both academic and practical – in the sector. Around the world, there is a growing interest in and deve­ Anticipating the future lopment of environmentally friendly solutions aimed at In this regard, the canton of Vaud can pride itself on having reducing the consumption of natural resources and limiting studied these issues for many years now, positioning itself greenhouse gas emissions. With climate change, the at the forefront of environmental technologies. Companies depletion of resources, pollution and ecosystem already active in cleantech will therefore have a prominent degradation, the environment now needs to be taken into role to play in the years to come and should be given en­ account in any economic activity. couragement and support. Switzerland recently adopted its “Energy Strategy 2050”. To this end, the environmental technologies cluster of The development of renewable energies and energy effi­ Western Switzerland – CleantechAlps – is committed to ciency, especially that of buildings, will be widely pro­ promoting and supporting businesses, and providing them moted in the country in the coming years. Every company with access to networking opportunities, while integrating will have to reflect upon its energy consumption: changes research institutes that are active in the sector. Other sup­ in procedures, investment in new equipment, maintenance port organizations and partners, such as Innovaud, encour­ of infrastructure, etc. age the creation and development of innovative companies, particularly those active in clean technologies. The canton of Vaud also has several innovation parks (EPFL Innovation Park, Y­PARC, TecOrbe etc.) which can accom­ modate companies of all sizes and offer services to busi­ nesses in the cleantech sector. The EPFL’s research and training centers, the Environmental Science and Engineer­ ing department and the HEIG­VD’s Ecotechnology depart­ ment in particular generate key knowledge and produce 5% leading specialists. GE/“Panorama of Swiss cleantech startups” 2017 report startups” cleantech of Swiss GE/“Panorama ­ S ­ the share of Swiss GPD that cleantech represents (2017). Source: SCleantech SCleantech Source: AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT FOR INVESTING Located in the heart of Europe, Vaud, the largest of the French­speak­ There are some 50,000 companies in Switzerland never ceases to amaze ing cantons, is also the most popu­ the canton, mainly operating in the with its diversity and prosperity. Its lated, with more than 800,000 service sector, but they also lead the political system is based on direct inhabitants. An illustration of its open­ way in technology sectors with high demo cracy and consensus, giving ness is that nearly a third of its popu­ added value such as precision instru­ rise to productive stability that lation hails from abroad. A significant ments, medical equipment and infor­ greatly bene fits the economy. The proportion of these people are highly mation technology. country regularly ranks among the qualified and were attracted by the most competitive in the world. working conditions and excellence of the region’s institutions. Source: cleantech.com Source: VAUD ECONOMIC PROMOTION / ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT 3 AREAS OF EXPERTISE The name cleantech encompasses various industrial sectors in which the canton of Vaud is broadly involved. Development of renewable energies Solar, wind, hydraulic, geothermal: these are the clean en­ ergy resources of tomorrow. Their development will also enable the creation of value­added jobs. In the canton of Vaud, the EPFL works to devote itself fully to these issues, notably through its Energy Center (CEN). Solar energy re­ ceives significant investment, with projects that are iconic Top 10 and famous all around the world such as Bertrand Piccard’s Solar Impulse aircraft and Raphael Domjan’s SolarStratos. Solar Impulse was partly designed at the EPFL and bene­ fited from the engineering skills of local companies. Switzerland featured in the top 10 in the Global Cleantech Innovation Index in 2014 Energy efficiency and 2017. A further key pillar of the Energy Strategy 2050 is energy efficiency, with the aim being to reduce energy consump­ tion, notably that of buildings – for businesses, industries and individuals – and by extension the consumption of re­ sources. In Switzerland, the building sector alone con­ sumes 45% of the energy used in the country. Essentially, the challenge is to achieve better insulation of buildings. Smart grids are one of the means of achieving greater en­ ergy efficiency, with their function being to distribute ­en ergy according to actual needs. A startup called DEPsys, for example, focuses on the development of such devices. RANKING GE/“Panorama of Swiss cleantech startups” 2017 report startups” cleantech of Swiss GE/“Panorama ­ S ­ Waste management MARKETS TARGETED This area encompasses the treatment, processing and re­ BY SWISS CLEANTECH covery of waste, including the new sources of energy that STARTUPS are the result, (biomass, biodiesel, biogas), the sectors and Source: SCleantech SCleantech Source: challenges of recycling, the circular economy and industrial 1. USA (16) ecology. The EPFL and HEIG­VD are working on these is­ sues by offering courses to students and conducting nu­ merous research projects. Companies such as Retripa in 2. China (10) Crissier, Tridel in Lausanne, Ecorecyclage in Lavigny and STRID in Yverdon­les­Bains are fully dedicated to this field. 3. Europe (10) Germany, France and Austria at the top 4. Rest of Asia (3) 5. (3) Canada Source: cleantech.com Source: 4 VAUD ECONOMIC PROMOTION / ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT Industrial ecology Consulting engineering in the fields of energy Drawing on natural ecosystems, industrial ecology consi­ and the environment ders flows of material and energy as closed circuits. The Switzerland and particularly the canton of Vaud have waste of one industry becomes the raw material of another, numerous engineering firms specializing in energy and the just as the residual heat produced by the activities of one environment. The most famous are: CSD Conseils, BG, company can be recovered for the activities of another: this Planair, Weinmann Energies, Impact­Concept, Effin’Art and practices are shaping the circular economy. The Chablais biol conseils. region in Vaud conducted a pilot experiment for the canton back in 2011–2012, and benefited from several sites in its From local to global territory which are generators of specific flows (including While energy efficiency solutions and the roll­out of renew­ a refinery and the Monthey chemical site). able energies need to be considered in the canton of Vaud and in the rest of Switzerland, other issues are proving to Water management and treatment be critical elsewhere in the world: water management, pol­ Returning wastewater to the natural environment, which lution, waste treatment, electrical equipment in remote then becomes suitable for consumption once more: opti­ areas, etc. mizing this cycle to promote the quality of this important resource for all of us is crucial. Limiting consumption is also Vaud companies with major international deployment a challenge for the future to avoid any shortage. Today, the include Leclanché for energy storage solutions; Green canton has nearly 160 wastewater treatment plants Motion for its charging devices for electric vehicles, which (WWTP) of widely varying sizes serving more than 300 mu­ is experiencing particularly high demand in China and nicipalities and more than 98% of the Vaud population. seeking to establish itself in India; and Tyre Recycling Many startups are also active in the water treatment and Solutions, which, as its name suggests, is active in the purification field. recycling of tires and has future plans to develop joint ventures with its financial partners in the Middle East, Africa, South America and Europe. Source: Cleantech – EMS – Cleantech Source: “Cleantechs are a market segment combining technologies, manufacturing processes and services aiming to protect and preserve natural resources, and are generating ever-increasing demand all around the world. Renowned for their cutting-edge technology and quality, Swiss exporters are in pole position in this DANIEL KÜNG CEO of Switzerland international race.” Global Enterprise VAUD ECONOMIC PROMOTION / ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT 5 CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH INSTITUTES Research institutes form the ecosystem for the research and development of new clean energy solutions. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) The EPFL has been involved in the sectors of renewable energies, energy efficiency and polluted sites for many The EPFL has also developed a center specializing in years, in particular through its Environmental Science and energy issues, called the Energy Center (CEN). The Engineering department. This unit is divided into four main center is involved in several large and ambitious pro­ fields of research: atmosphere and climate, water and soil, jects, including EUCALC, a European calculator pro­ waste and pollution, monitoring and modeling. ject; IntegrCiTy, which promotes the interoperability of energy networks in existing or future urban infra­ structures by developing a decision support tool;

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