Team Future Energy Systems | ZHAW Institute of Sustainable Development INE

“Our vision is to create sustainable business models and business ecosystems that are not only competitive, but also take care of our climate.”

Dr. Silvia Ulli-Beer

Thematic and Methodological Focal Points

Our Mission

There are a variety of technological options for efficient and renewable energy systems. But which business models enable their profitable use? And how should they be orchestrated between various stakeholders so that everyone benefits and contributes to a sustainable energy supply?

This is where INE's Future Energy Systems team comes in: in our applied research, we support industry partners and authorities in designing measures and developing competitive business models and ecosystems.

Our Research Approaches

We combine social science methods with modern technologies to develop solutions for the energy transition. These include

System dynamic modelling to analyse complex interactions in energy systems.
Expert interviews, workshops and surveys to gain well-founded insights.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) as research and communication tools.

Collaboration with Industry and Authorities

Our research has a strong practical focus: we work closely with companies, institutions and other stakeholders to develop customised solutions. Our aim is not only to research innovative concepts in theory, but also to make them applicable in practice.

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Ongoing Projects

PEDSET: Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) as the key to the Swiss energy transition? The project is part of an interdisciplinary research initiative investigating the application of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) and similar concepts in Switzerland. The aim is to develop practical guidelines for the implementation and scaling of these energy-positive neighbourhoods as an integral part of sustainable urban and energy policy.
AGORA „Escape the Fossils“: The AR-supported outdoor game "SOLAI - Tale of Transition" makes science tangible and gets young people excited about the energy transition. In an interactive mission in Winterthur, players solve science-based puzzles about renewable energies, prosumer models and industrial transformation. Accompanied by teaching materials and researchers, the ZHAW project creates a bridge between research and society for sustainable learning and real prospects for the future.
RENOWAVE: The aim of the project is to reduce the CO2 emissions of the Swiss building stock through energy-efficient refurbishment and the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energies. The guidelines for designing a one-stop-shop business model for building decarbonisation can be found here (PDF 3.68 MB).
SWEET COSI: Companies and energy communities: The aim of the project is to understand the implications of different energy scenarios on the actions of companies and organisations, such as energy communities, and how business ecosystems will develop. The guidelines for the development of an energy community can be found here (PDF 7.24 MB).
KliPO Climate-positive living in eastern Switzerland: The aim of the project, which is funded by the EKT Foundation, is to demonstrate climate-positive living in eastern Switzerland and to develop scaling concepts for the construction industry.