Reaching New Heights with Sino-Swiss Exchanges on Energy Innovation

SHANGHAI, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Driven in particular by the aim for a climate-neutral Switzerland by 2050 and China by 2060, the Sino-Swiss Energy Innovation Forum 2021 – an initiative by the Science Consulate of Switzerland, Swissnex in China and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy – provided prominent members from the academia, research, industry, startups, government and investment with the opportunity to exchange exciting cutting-edge science & technology-driven energy innovations, strategies, market developments and policies from Switzerland and China.

"Energy is the fuel of our economy and energy policy is key to move towards a sustainable world," said State Secretary Benoit Revaz, Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, who opened the forum with his policy keynote. "Innovations show us already today, what the energy world of tomorrow could look like. Innovations are crucial and should lead the needed transitions."

The two-day forum focused on the topics of electricity grid and renewables, featuring inspiring presentations from top-level industry experts, academics and startups, thereby creating a collaborative platform that connects Switzerland and China through research, technology and business exchanges.

In light of the continued spread and unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's forum was held in a digital format, laying the foundations for a physical Sino-Swiss Energy Innovation Forum 2022 next year in order to deepen the dialogue and further promote cooperation and synergies between Switzerland and China.

"China's immense scale and high-speed technological development across all fields of research offers many exciting opportunities for Switzerland, the world leader in ground-breaking innovation executed at the highest international quality standards," said Dr. Felix Moesner, "With this inaugural forum we want to plant the seeds for growing connections between the brightest minds in energy innovation, and to spark successful bilateral partnerships."

The forum was concluded at the Sino-Swiss Energy Innovation Reception held on China's tallest building, the Shanghai Tower, on May 17. The exclusive networking showcased Swiss energy and cleantech champions, with the China premiere of "gotthard", the driverless electric racing car from the family of world record-breaking EVs built by the ETH Zurich AMZ Formula Student team taking center stage. as well as the exhibitions "Can Tech save the World?" and "Watt d'Or - Swiss Energy Prize Projects". The guests also enjoyed live jazz performance by renowned artists Li Xiaochuan and Wang Wenwei, who especially composed sustainability-inspired pieces for the evening.

The Sino-Swiss Energy Innovation Forum is organized by Swissnex in China in partnership with the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, Swiss Engineering, Shanghai Energy Research Society and Presence Switzerland. 

About the Swiss Federal Office of Energy

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) is Switzerland's competence center for issues relating to energy supply and energy use at the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).  It is responsible for:

• Creating the prerequisites for a sufficient, crisis-proof, broad-based, economic and sustainable energy supply.
• Ensuring the maintenance of high safety standards in the production, transport and utilisation of energy.
• Creating the necessary conditions for efficient electricity and gas markets and an adapted infrastructure.
• Actively promoting efficient energy use, an increase in the share of renewable energy and a reduction in CO2 emissions.
• Promoting and coordinating national energy research and supporting the development of new markets for sustainable energy use and supply.

About Swissnex in China

Swissnex in China is the Science Consulate of Switzerland in China. As part of the Swissnex global network, we connect Switzerland, China and the world in science, research, education and innovation. Our mission is to support the outreach and active engagement of our partners in the international exchange of knowledge, ideas and talent. The five main Swissnex locations are established in some of the world's most innovative regions: Boston, Brazil, China, India and San Francisco. Swissnex is an initiative of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation of Switzerland and is part of the Swiss Confederation's network abroad managed by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

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