Partnering with EPFL

"Founded in 2011, bNovate Technologies has grown in the heart of the EPFL Innovation Park into a successful cleantech company offering automated and connected instruments for the global water industry. Benefiting from the vibrant community of the Park and driven by a pioneering spirit, bNovate has revolutionized water quality management by decreasing the measurement time of bacteria from days to just minutes and now offers several solutions to address the rapidly growing industrial microbiology market. By designing such new tools, bNovate delivers a measurable, positive impact on society since drinking water utilities, pharmaceutical industries and bottled water companies can now react in time to avoid microbial contamination, optimize treatment processes and ensure more sustainable water management."

Simon Küenzi, CEO and founder at bNovate

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"At Bühler we supply the food industry with technologies and equipment to process crops into the food products we love – bread, pasta, chocolate, coffee. However, as agriculture and food are responsible for 30% of greenhouse gases emissions, our innovation activity is focused on reducing energy, waste and water in our customers’ value chains by 50%, while rethinking the way food is produced. We drive these ambitions through multiple collaborations, like the ones we have established with EPFL Centers (SDSC, IFNC), laboratories and students. We have embedded our data scientists at the EPFL Innovation Park to work closely with the Swiss Data Science Center and develop our digital services. Our presence on campus also ensures the participation of 8-12 EPFL students in our internship program every year in support of our sustainable innovation goals."

Nicolas Dorsaz, EPFL Satellite Innovation Manager at Bühler

"The electricity consumption of data center cooling systems worldwide is equivalent to that of the combined populations of London and New York City. We are proud to be working on solutions to significantly decrease this massive consumption thereby ensuring the future of high-performance sustainable computing. The EPFL innovation Park has been very supportive in helping cleantech startups such as ours achieve our goals. We are delighted to collaborate with the POWERLab at EPFL and grateful for the support of EPFL programs such as the Innogrant."

Sam Harrison, Co-founder & COO at Corintis

"At Enerdrape we are boosting the sustainable energy transition of our cities by developing the world's first thermal panel for use in underground structures.  This panel allows any kind of underground infrastructure, from parking garages to tunnels, to be used as a renewable energy source able to power our cities with renewable heating and cooling. We are committed to addressing one of the biggest challenges to the decarbonization of our cities - access to affordable and clean sources of energy - by unlocking the energy potential that lies underground. As a spin-off of the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics (LMS), we already had a strong connection to the EPFL and it was therefore quite naturally that we decided to base ourselves at the EPFL Innovation Park, heart of cutting-edge innovation and talent."

Margaux Peltier, CEO and co-founder at Enerdrape

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"Logitech is working to defy the logic of the past to create a more equitable and climate-positive world. We're doing it in big and small ways, from changing the cups in the cafeteria to sharing the carbon impact of our entire product portfolio so that our customers can make informed decisions. We are carbon neutral across our portfolio and operations, including our HQ on the EPFL campus, and we aim to be climate positive beyond 2030. EPFL has been bound up in Logitech's history since the beginning and our work in sustainability is no exception. Amongst the many areas of collaboration, we participate in the research on new sustainable materials taking place on campus."

Jean-Michel Chardon, Head of Technology Innovation & HQ site lead at Logitech

"The birth of Olympe is intimately linked to the EPFL since we were born via its incubator. Olympe is a composition platform based on reusable, open-source bricks. Our marketplace is a customised and searchable database, ensuring optimal reusability and asset-sharing. Better mutualisation and governance considerably reduce waste in the landscape of our clients' software. We pursue growth while fulfilling our social and environmental responsibilities. Soft mobility of our employees and green projects such as our track and trace solution, calculating CO2 footprint, are encouraged. Thanks to its accessibility, the EPFL Innovation Park invites soft mobility. Its bicycle paths, showers, proximity to public transport and Publibike stations allow our employees to easily avoid taking their car. Regular forums and presentations at the Park have allowed us to benefit from simple and innovative ideas on sustainable development. The green synergies between the Park’s companies and partners are enriched by the Sustainability group in which we participate with enthusiasm."

Bertrand Le Foulgoc, VP Software Engineering at Olympe

"We launched our Corporate Social Responsibility strategy about six months ago with the help of the Sustainability team at the EPFL Innovation Park. Based on the U.N.'s SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), we have identified our points for improvement. It's a fantastic opportunity to work within the Innovation Park and be assisted, supported and encouraged in our approach. Procsim is specialized in flow management and process optimization. We regularly participate in the monthly SLTTs (Sustainability Leaders think Tank) this allows us to learn, ask questions and get feedback from other companies in the Park. There's a real synergy created between all the companies present at these sessions as they each benefit from sharing their best practices."

Marine Roeseler, Marketing & Communication Manager at Procsim

"The EPFL Innovation Park is a big part of Quantis’ story — it all started when a few EPFL alumni banded together to make life cycle assessment applicable for business. Our ambition was to drive real, meaningful change for industry by harnessing the best available environmental data and metrics. The ecosystem of the Innovation Park was the perfect launch pad for us with the access to resources, knowledge and networks that it provides. Over the years, we’ve continued to find new ways to innovate and amplify our impact, including through many European-level research projects, guiding and partnering with organizations in Switzerland and beyond whilst maintaining our scientific rigor and credibility. We’ve extended our expertise beyond assessment and are now harnessing our metrics-based approach, environmental expertise and strategic business knowledge to redefine the rules of business and pave the way for a new economy supportive of the planet's resources and ecosystems."

Arnaud Dauriat, Director at Quantis Switzerland

"Our presence at the EPFL Innovation Park gives us easy access to the ecosystem of laboratories, start-ups and companies on the site. We have worked with EPFL to set up demonstration projects for better integration of renewable energies into the electricity grid. Innovation and sustainability are at the heart of our strategy. As an innovative and responsible company, we aim to support our stakeholders and our customers in their necessary transition to renewable energy, in particular through our products and services."

Audrey Cauchet, Sustainability Manager at Romande Energie

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"SoHHytec collaborates closely with leading experts at EPFL to develop its groundbreaking artificial photosynthesis technology. SoHHytec has developed an artificial tree system called Arb together with the Laboratory of Renewable Energy in Science and Engineering. Arb uses sunlight and water to produce green fuel i.e. Hydrogen as well as Oxygen and power i.e. Electricity and Heat. Arbs saves around 15 tons of CO2e emissions per ton of H2 produced, a potential saving of around 1 billion tons of CO2e per year and an eventual potential saving of around 10 billion tons by replacing conventional fossil fuels with our green Hydrogen in major industrial, transportation and energy sectors. Additionally, Arbs provides independent energy security."

Dr. Saurabh Tembhurne, CEO and Co-Founder at SoHHytec

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"At Sonceboz, we are a team with recognized know-how helping our customers solve major technological challenges. With our employees we work towards building a better world by ethically and responsibly creating smart products that aim to improve people's daily lives, whether from an environmental or a safety point of view. Our way of creating sustainable value for our company and for our customers is inspired by our deep respect for others and the environment, which has guided us successfully since 1936. Thanks to our partnerships with EPFL, we are developing new applications of mechatronics for human well-being such as rehabilitation and robotics, as well as applications that are environmentally friendly like electric mobility and photovoltaics."

Bruno Clerc, Head of HSE at Sonceboz Group

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"At Swisscom, we are looking for innovation which combines digital technologies and sustainability. Being located at the EPFL Innovation Park means we get in touch early with Startups and innovative projects from EPFL. Currently we are involved in the hyperloop pilot on the EPFL campus testing the feasibility of supporting modern transportation systems with fast communication through 5G. We are always on the lookout for investments in spin-offs from EPFL. One of our latest investments is Daphne, a startup producing a technology to decarbonize the cargo-ship industry. Swisscom has also set a target to save 1 million tons of CO2 per year from 2025 onward through the use of and investment in digital technologies. We would like to contribute to this goal through projects with EPFL or investments in EPFL spin-off startups."

Res Witschi, Delegate for Sustainable Digitalization at Swisscom

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