As majestic alpine profiles come into full view, Daniel Lepori, CEO of Designergy, a building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) manufacturer, warns us as we glide onto the highway on-ramp, “Keep your heads up against the headrest, unless you want to bruise your brain.” But suddenly Nico Lauer and I find ourselves traveling over 100 km (? 62 miles) per hour – all in 3.2 neck-snapping seconds. Absent was the growling baritone of the Ferrari Testarossa. Instead, with noiseless efficiency the electric power generated by 362 horsepower directed all of its torque directly to the wheels of this Tesla Model S. Weiterlesen

I have rarely seen as many satisfied faces as I did last Friday, August 21, 2015, at the end of the second Swiss-US Energy Innovation Days in Zurich. In 2014, the event took place in Boston, in the environment of MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern University, while this year the exciting three-day conference was hosted in Switzerland, with more than 300 attendees from various regions of both Switzerland and the U.S. The program included various intensive discussions about topics such as mobility, buildings, space planning, society etc., coupled with instructive site visits to companies and institutions, who pride themselves in being a part of shaping the future of energy. Weiterlesen

The participants of the Swiss-US Energy Innovation Days dove into their first day with exceptional enthusiasm. After brief welcoming speeches by Daniel Seelhofer (Vice Dean, ZHAW School of Management and Law, Marianne Zuend (Swiss Federal Office of Energy), Myriam Barsuglia (Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects SIA), Peter Qvist-Sorensen (ZHAW School of Management), the impressive group of 120 broke up into 4 separate workshops: Society & Economy, Energy Technologies, Mobility, and Architecture & Space, led by chairs Linda Looft, Peter Richner, Nick Nigro, and Arno Schlueter respectively. When asked for first impressions of the discussions led in each workshop, all the chairs were delighted at the insightfulness and passion presented in each group (watch videos on energyinnovationdays.com), and are excited to continue the discussion this morning in the second workshop session. Weiterlesen