Carbon Removal . Climate Change . Energy Supply . Storage
From the SCCER to SWEET – Past, present and future of energy research at ETH Zurich
On 14.10.2021 by Gianfranco Guidati, Christian SchaffnerAfter the Fukushima disaster, the Swiss Federation decided to boost energy research in support of the Energy Strategy 2050. Its primary goal was to replace nuclear electricity generation with renewables while maintaining a secure and affordable energy supply. This research was organized by Innosuisse within the eight Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER), which came to an end in 2020. Insights from the SCCER have formed the basis for intensified research in the field of energy from 2021 onwards. The new research programme SWiss Energy research for the Energy Transition (SWEET) launched by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, will take on the challenging and exciting task of carrying forward this research as Switzerland works toward net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. While the SCCERs focused on specific aspects of the energy transition (e.g. grids, heat, supply of electricity), the focus of the SWEET programme is on integrating all these aspects with a holistic and systemic approach.
Economics & Policy . Energy Supply . Society
Why we need net-zero emissions scenarios for mid-century
On 27.04.2021 by Gianfranco GuidatiOur goal is not to predict the future, rather to shape it. Net-zero scenarios for the energy system help us do that. Although they deliver only a blurred view of the future, they allow us to guess the shape of things to come, and most importantly to formulate actions for today that will put us on the right track.