Zoe Stadler

The ENSURE project is investigating various extreme situations that may occur in local grids in the future and ways of avoiding them. The focus is on the expected peak loads and issues relating to grid stability. The aim is to analyse which flexibilities and requirements new sector coupling technologies such as Power-to-X and X-to-Power must provide in order to actively contribute to peak smoothing and grid stability.

The focus within Task 64 was an informative exchange on the production and application of different e-fuels as well as the corresponding regulatory framework and standards.

In an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary framework, the Innosuisse flagship project DeCIRRA addresses the following questions: How can we decarbonise cities and regions? How can we make optimal use of local resources and existing infrastructure? What role can energy distributors and renewable gases play in the transition to a net-zero CO2 energy system?

In a future energy system, we will have too much renewable energy in summer and too little in winter. Seasonal storage facilities are therefore in demand. The USC - FlexStore project is investigating whether underground methanation could counteract this problem. Renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide are pumped together into the ground, where naturally occurring microorganisms convert the two substances into methane, the main component of natural gas.

To reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, the logistics industry is currently looking at various fossil-free drive concepts. One possibility is to switch to liquefied biogas (LBG). A team from the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland, together with the transport company Krummen Kerzers AG and with Lidl Schweiz AG, is investigating whether and to what extent replacing conventional diesel fuel with liquefied biogas (LBG) in heavy-duty transport in Switzerland makes ecological and economic sense.

Today, Switzerland covers around three quarters of its energy needs through imports. The upcoming energy transition is leading to uncertainty about future energy supplies and a desire to make greater use of domestic energy sources. However, renewable resources such as biomass are only available to a limited extent. Against this background, the project "Carbon Flows in the Energy Transition" was launched at the Institute for Energy Technology IET. Together with EPFL in Sion, the IET investigated the various energy and carbon sources in Switzerland. Among other things, the research project shows that CO2 levies of between 400 and 700 francs per tonne of CO2 are necessary to bring about a shift away from fossil to renewable energy sources.