ReFuel.ch awarded funding from SWEET programme

The overall target of reFuel.ch (Renewable Fuels and Chemicals for Switzerland) is to improve the sustainability and reduce the costs of sustainable fuels and platform chemicals by increasing the efficiency, selectivity, and load-flexibility of production plants to comply with long-term climate policy goals.

The consortium will investigate how investment security can be improved by closing the knowledge gap between technical and non-technical aspects of sustainable fuels. Robust and practical pathways for the introduction of sustainable fuels and platform chemicals into markets and the Swiss energy system will be developed. To achieve this, inputs from social and natural sciences and engineering as well as from the dialogue with relevant stakeholders will be included. A second aim is to strengthen innovative technologies currently at low technology readiness level.

The call “Sustainable Fuels and Platform Chemicals” was developed in collaboration with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) and the Federal Office for Defence Procurement (armasuisse). The reFuel.ch consortium was selected in a two-stage procedure. The funding is CHF 15 million. The consortium is composed of:

Host institution: Empa

Members: PSI, ETH, EPFL, USI, UniBS, FHNW, SUPSI, ZHAW, Casale SA

Total budget: CHF 17.6 million, incl. CHF 15 million financed by SWEET

SWEET (Swiss Energy research for the Energy Transition) funding programme

The SWEET programme issues rolling calls for proposals for consortium projects and will continue until 2032. Funding is provided only for consortium projects that address central research topics of the 2050 Energy Strategy and Switzerland's long-term climate strategy in a comprehensive manner. SWEET focuses on solution-oriented research and on demonstrations of the results achieved. The SFOE has the lead for the SWEET programme.