BFE Call for Proposals with a New Funding Approach

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) is testing a new approach to promoting energy innovations in Switzerland for the first time. The focus is on high-risk research and development projects with transformative potential for the future energy supply. The approach is modeled after ARPA-E.

ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) is a research funding agency of the U.S. Department of Energy that supports the development of high-risk, transformative technologies. Development must be geared toward specific goals, and commercialization must be considered from the outset.

The call for proposals is being published as part of the SWEET funding program. However, it is not aimed at transdisciplinary research consortia but rather supports individual research and development projects.

Focus on Energy Security

The main theme of the call for proposals is “Supply Security on the Path to a Net-Zero Energy System.” The central question is how Switzerland can ensure a secure and affordable energy supply at all times during the transition to a climate-neutral energy system. The program seeks high-risk projects with transformative potential that can make a concrete contribution to the implementation of the Energy Strategy 2050. All projects must have a clear plan after three years for how the solution can be commercialized through a startup or a partnership with a company.

Call for Proposals Under External Management

Like ARPA-E, this call for proposals relies on external management to evaluate projects, actively monitor project progress, and terminate projects if agreed-upon milestones are not met. In collaboration with the ETH Board, Prof. em. Marco Mazzotti (formerly of ETH Zurich) was selected as Call Director.

The projects will last a maximum of three years. A total of 4 million Swiss francs is available for this call. The maximum funding per project is 1.33 million Swiss francs. The projects, as well as the Call Director, will receive support from experienced experts regarding commercialization. The Energy Research Commission (CORE) welcomes this novel and innovative approach.

SWEETis a funding program of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). The purpose of SWEET is to fund solution-oriented research and innovations that focus on the goals of the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 and the Long-Term Climate Strategy.

Text: Christa Rosatzin, Sprachwerk GmbH on behalf of the SWEET Secretariat, Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)
Photo: Unsplash; Ameen Fahmy