Empa consortium awarded funding from SWEET program
How can Switzerland reduce hard-to-abate CO2 emissions?
To achieve the net-zero target, we must use all available options, from removing CO2 from the atmosphere or industrial waste gases, to using it for chemical products and long-term carbon storage, to circular economy-based approaches. The aim of the Net-Zero call (Addressing Hard-To-Abate Emissions to Reach the Net-Zero Target of Switzerland) launched in 2024 as part of the SWEET funding program is to flesh out these solutions and make them scalable. The decision has now been announced: The call has been awarded to the ACHIEVE consortium, which is led by Empa.
Certain greenhouse gas emissions are difficult to avoid, particularly in the industrial and agricultural sectors. How should Switzerland deal with these emissions in its efforts to achieve net zero? The ACHIEVE consortium will analyze possible approaches and draw up a basis for decision-making.
Nine research institutions and five private-sector partners are collaborating with entities from industry, associations and public administration on issues such as how biomass can be used sustainably in a cascade, how emissions can be reduced in agriculture and the food production system, and which circular economy approaches can contribute to industrial decarbonization. The researchers will work with actors from civil society, politics and industry to develop specific net-zero pathways with recommendations for policy frameworks. They are to show the potential for CO2 removal from the atmosphere in Switzerland and where CO2 can be captured at the source of emission, then stored permanently in products or geological storage sites (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, CCUS). Concrete implementation projects are also planned, for example for CO2 injection in the Swiss underground. "With ACHIEVE, we are bringing together the strengths of leading research institutions and partners from the private sector to identify concrete ways of achieving a climate-neutral Switzerland,” says Nathalie Casas, member of Empa's Directorate and Head of the Energy, Mobility and Environment Department, who is coordinating the project. “Together, we are developing scientifically sound solutions that can have an impact in both politics and industry as fast as possible."
ACHIEVE: 14 partners from across Switzerland
The call for proposals Addressing Hard-To-Abate Emissions to Reach the Net-Zero Target of Switzerland was jointly launched by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). The consortium was selected in a two-stage process. The winner, the ACHIEVE consortium, is led by Empa as host institution; its partners are three other institutions in the ETH Domain – ETH Zurich, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and WSL – as well as the University of Geneva, the Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud (HEIG-VD), the Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana (SUPSI), the University of Bern, the University of Neuchâtel, CLB Switzerland, the Risk Dialogue Foundation, INFRAS, TBF+Partner, and Storra Dynamics GmbH. The total budget for the project is CHF 30.6 million, of which CHF 19.6 million is being financed by the SWEET program. ACHIEVE will start at the end of 2025 and is scheduled to run for six years.
The SWEET funding program (Swiss Energy Research for the Energy Transition)
The SWEET program issues rolling calls for proposals for consortium projects. 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 Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) has the lead for the SWEET program.
Dr. Nathalie Casas
Energy, Mobility and Environment
Phone +41 58 765 3933
