Swiss Federal Office of Energy awards the Watt d'Or 2025 Swiss Energy Prize

The golden winners of the year 2025 are Matica AG from Kaltenbach (TG) together with Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts HSLU (Energy Technologies category), Ewb together with Lubera AG from Buchs/SG (Renewable Energies category), Galliker Transport AG from Altishofen (LU) (Energy-efficient Mobility category), and IWB from Basel (Buildings and Space category). The jury's special prize was also awarded to Genossenschaft Elektra, Jegenstorf (BE) together with Groupe E (FR), Azienda Elettrica di Massagno AEM (TI) and EKZ with ETH Zurich (ZH).

The Watt d'Or trophy - a snow globe - was presented to the winners by the prominent jury chaired by National Councillor Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher at the Kursaal Congress Center in Bern. Hundreds of representatives of the Swiss energy scene from politics, business and research were present.

Watt d'Or - the seal of quality for energy excellence

Innovative Swiss companies and universities are successfully and courageously putting the future of energy into practice. In their honor, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy has created the Watt d'Or, the seal of quality for energy excellence. The Watt d'Or was awarded for the first time in 2007. Its aim is to publicize exceptional achievements in the energy sector. They are intended to motivate business, politics and the general public to discover the advantages of innovative energy technologies for themselves.

The Watt d'Or is not endowed, so no prize money is paid out. 40 applications were submitted for the Watt d'Or 2025 by mid-July 2024 and evaluated by a team of experts. In the end, 18 entries were nominated for the final round. From these, the jury, chaired by jury president Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher, selected the winning projects in the four Watt d'Or categories. This year, the jury also awarded a special prize.

Winner of the Watt d'Or 2025

Energy technologies category

SeasON: Today's energy - tomorrow's warmth. A unique energy innovation has been in operation in Frauenfeld (TG) since fall 2024: the SeasON sorption storage heat pump, developed by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts HSLU and Matica AG from Kaltenbach (TG). SeasON's catchy claim "today's energy - tomorrow's warmth" describes what it is all about. Surplus renewable energy is stored in summer for the winter using a thermochemical process. Caustic soda is used for this purpose. In summer, this is concentrated with renewable electricity or heat by extracting water from it.

Caustic soda and water can thus be stored at room temperature until winter without any losses. If the caustic solution is then diluted again by evaporating and absorbing water, heat is generated which the sorption storage heat pump can use to heat the building with almost no additional electrical energy. The first pilot plant in Frauenfeld shows how well this works. Two further, larger pilot plants in Switzerland and Germany will follow in the coming months.

Renewable energies category

Agri-PV in Buchs: The sun brings a double harvest. Plants need sunlight to grow. And photovoltaic modules are needed to produce electricity. Thanks to the Agri photovoltaic system on the roofs of Lubera AG's new greenhouses in Buchs (SG), sunlight can be used for both purposes at the same time. The system, which was built by the municipal energy supply company Ewb, covers 10,700 square meters and generates around 750,000 kWh of solar power annually for the Ewb grid. The more than 6,600 photovoltaic modules with an installed capacity of 812 kWp were developed by the company Insolight from Renens (VD) and the Bünder company Reech from Landquart. They are optimally integrated into the roof and translucent, so that 20% of sunlight can be used for electricity production and 80% for the plants in the greenhouse. A double "harvest" is therefore guaranteed.

Energy-efficient mobility category

Electropower tunnel: Charging infrastructure for sustainable transport logistics. "We think in generations". This is not just a slogan at Galliker Transport AG, but has been a recipe for success for over a hundred years. The family business, now in its third generation, knows that long-term visions and sustainable goals are needed so that the next generation can successfully carry on a strong brand. In its mission statement "Green Logistics by Galliker", the family is therefore committed to sustainable business practices and treating people, the environment and nature with respect.

It has set itself the goal of becoming CO2-neutral by 2050. This vision is being consistently implemented. Around 10% of the vehicle fleet is already on the road with alternative drive systems. Now it is time to upgrade the charging infrastructure. This has been achieved with the innovative, underground electric power tunnel at the headquarters in Altishofen (LU). 28 electric trucks can charge there with up to 200 kW of power. Such tunnels are soon to be built at other Galliker locations. Galliker Transport AG realized this project together with Fent AG from Seon (AG), Thomas Lüem Partner AG from Baar (ZG) and CKW AG from Lucerne.

Category building and space

Nanocomposite: cleverly sharing heat with neighbors. Electricity from the PV system on the roof can now be shared with neighbors in a group for self-consumption. The same principle also makes sense for heating: many heating systems in residential buildings are oversized and are therefore not used to capacity. Sharing the heat from your own heating system with your neighbors saves on maintenance and heating costs. The energy company IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel) has demonstrated how well this works in a Basel district.

Since autumn 2023, three terraced single-family homes have been connected with a geothermal probe heat pump and two gas heating systems to form a nano-network - a mini heat network. In the first winter, they were heated to over 90% with renewable heat from the heat pump and at 15% lower costs than before. The nano-network can be a solution for around 300,000 buildings in Switzerland that are adjacent to at least one other building and need a solution. Technically, the nanocomposite is easy to implement. The Basel idea therefore has the potential to gain a foothold throughout Switzerland.

Special prize of the jury

Grid tariffs contribute to an efficient and secure electricity grid. In Switzerland, more and more electricity is being produced decentrally and fed into the electricity distribution grid, for example from photovoltaic systems on buildings. And there are more and more consumers drawing electricity from the distribution grid, such as electric vehicles and heat pumps. This is putting more and more strain on the distribution grid. To ensure that consumers continue to be supplied with electricity efficiently and reliably in the future and that the electricity generated can be transported away, it is not only necessary to expand the distribution grids, as dynamic grid tariffs can also make a significant contribution. Their potential can be tapped thanks to "smart meters", which are now widely available. The industry is actively addressing grid tariffs with various approaches. Four projects were awarded the Watt d'Or 2025 in the "Special Jury Prize" category: Genossenschaft Elektra, Jegenstorf (BE), Groupe E (FR), AEM (TI) and EKZ together with ETH Zurich (ZH).

Source: Federal Office of Energy