Switzerland Innovation Tech4Impact Initiative

The “Switzerland Innovation Tech4Impact Initiative” (SI Tech4Impact) is a research grant created to facilitate the realization of ground-breaking impactful projects in Switzerland that are implemented in collaboration with Swiss universities, entrepreneurs, SMEs and research partners. 

The one-year project grant focuses on selected themes of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and selects projects with a real market application potential providing them with a grant that ranges from CHF 70.000 – CHF 100.000. 

This initiative is led together with Switzerland Innovation Foundation and is further supported by the following innovation partner companies: ABB, Credit Suisse, Die Mobiliar, Economiesuisse, Interpharma, Schindler, Swiss Re Foundation, Swisscom, UBS, Zurich. 

Awarded Projects – 2020

Electronic waste is one of the largest, growing municipal waste streams in the world. CECO-MET, a project launched by the would be spin-off company of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) named REMRETEch, is aimed at achieving strong municipal electronic waste disposal so as to recover valuable metals. The patented technology is designed to improve recycling, promote responsible consumption, and make towns and cities more sustainable by introducing a circular-economy approach and “urban mining”.

Cocoboard is a natural fiberboard made of coconut husks that can be used in manufacturing furniture and in housing construction. The product, designed by the company NaturLoop, aims to foster integration among coconut farmers and respond to the demand for affordable construction materials in developing countries. Together with the Swiss Smart Factory at Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne, NaturLoop is developing a micro-factory concept that is to be implemented in the Philippines in 2022.

The composite materials currently used in marine, sports, the aerospace industry and in wind turbines are susceptible to cracking, require expensive maintenance and are difficult to recycle. The solution offered by the company CompPair, a spin-off of EPFL, shortens repair times from hours to minutes, extends the product service life and can help make the recycling process more efficient.

The technology developed by Enerdrape, a spin-off of EPFL, uses geothermal wall panels to harvest geothermal and excess energy within buildings for their heating and cooling needs. The patented solution helps make existing buildings more energy-efficient, cut their operational costs and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Plastogaz, a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), has developed a technology that uses powerful catalysts to selectively convert mixed plastics that cannot be recycled into methane. Methane is used as a form of heating gas and in the chemicals industry. The Plastogaz technology has the potential to considerably reduce the greenhouse gases resulting from the disposal of plastic waste (e.g. through incineration).

The UN forecasts that by 2030, the global water supply will fall 40% short of demand. This is where the WaSTeLeSS project launched by the company Droople comes into play: A network of sensors delivers time-relevant data on hot- and cold-water consumption. The new findings obtained using the patented solution facilitate a better understanding of consumption behavior, allowing hot- and cold-water waste to be reduced.