Watt d'Or honors innovative companies
The Swiss Federal Office of Energy presented the Watt d'Or 2022 Swiss Energy Prize. The award goes to the modular construction planning principle of schaerraum ag from Horw LU, the biochar from Verora AG in Edlibach ZG and the SBB for their intelligent control of electricity consumption.
The Swiss Watt d'Or 2022 Energy Prize was awarded on January 6th. The Federal Office of Energy ( SFOE ) has been presenting this seal of approval for energy excellence every year since 2007 on the occasion of its New Year's event. The prizes are not endowed. They should motivate business, politics and the general public to discover the advantages of innovative energy technologies for themselves.
Schaerraum ag received the award in the building and space category. In just eight months of construction, she built a climate-neutral multi-storey residential and office building made of regional wood in Horw LU. According to a press release by the SFOE, it produces 50 percent more electricity than it needs. In addition, the rental prices are around 20 percent below the local average. This is made possible by the modular planning principle RaumRaster.
In the renewable energies category, Verora AG is awarded to a group of farmers from the Zug mountain region. Since 2012, it has been producing biochar from tree and shrub cuttings with a pyrolysis system that has been further developed in-house. As a feed additive, it reduces the formation of gas during the digestion of cows and the smell of ammonia in the barn. It also increases the nutrient content of fertilizer and compost and binds CO2 for centuries.
No winner was chosen in the mobility category this year. SBB receives the Watt d'Or 2022 in the energy technologies category. It has developed intelligent load management software that replaces the construction of new, expensive electricity production plants. In the event of peak loads, for example when many trains are accelerating at the same time, it switches off the train car and point heating for a short time. In this way, SBB can flexibly control 70 megawatts by 2023, according to the SFOE: "It is thus assuming a role model for the general electricity grid in Switzerland."