2nd Annual Conference of the SWEET consortium refuel.ch
The reFuel.ch community met for the sixth time to exchange knowledge and ideas following the kick-off in December 2023, the first annual conference at industry partner V-ZUG in 2024, and the round tables in 2024 and 2025. Each event has a different focus. At PSI, young and senior researchers presented the highlights from the ongoing work of the seven work packages.
The presentations included, for example, progress in identifying policy gaps and barriers related to the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels in Switzerland; first results of a survey on consumer preferences regarding the use of sustainable fuels in the industry, aviation or maritime sectors; and progress in modelling the implications of sustainable fuels production in exporting countries. They also highlighted progress in expanding a Swiss energy system model framework to incorporate the necessary components to determine robust pathways for sustainable fuel and platform chemicals production. The technical work packages presented new material developments for catalysts and membranes in the various technological paths investigated in reFuel.ch.
The two keynotes broadened the perspective and provided additional context: an important goal of the consortium is to place its results in the national and international political and social context, to compare Swiss industrial work with that of other countries, and to analyse the economic and the resource/procurement-dependent potential of sustainable fuels and platform chemicals.
Patricia Thornley, Director of the Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute and the Supergen Bioenergy Hub at Aston University in Birmingham, UK, presented the ‘Evaluation of the sustainability impacts of using biomass for energy and products’, how these are handled within the framework of the UK's policy sustainability targets, and how the global availability and environmental impact of biomass compares to that of other alternative fuels.
In the second keynote speech, Christian Moretti, reFuel.ch researcher at the Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis at PSI, gave an overview on ‘E-fuels and chemicals: costs, efficiency and optimal use’. During the two panel discussions with the presenters, the audience had the opportunity to ask their own questions, leading to lively discussions that continued during the breaks.
It was an all-round successful day, filled with the latest research findings and their economic and political implications. We are already looking forward to the next exchange at the online round table in November: information will follow soon on this page!
