SCCERs are the national competence center for energy research aiming to support the implementation of the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 (ES2050) by transferring knowledge and technology among academic and industrial energy actors.
The Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) established them in 2014 for 3 years (Phase I) and their mandate was renewed in 2017 for 4 more years (Phase II).
SCCER-FURIES is the national competence center focused on the upgrading of the Swiss electrical infrastructure. It addresses the power grid-related challenges raised by the ES2050 by providing the grid operators with intelligence-enhanced planning, monitoring and operation tools.
Its uniqueness relies on factors such as:
Pool of competences
250 experts of the power grid working for 32 labs (academic partners) and 56 companies (industrial partners) from all around Switzerland contribute to the implementation of FURIES work plan. Also, collaborations with other SCCERs enable further expansion of the pool of competences in order to address multi-discipline and multi-energy systemic issue.
Flexibility
While the objectives and the focus area of the center are pre-defined by the funding agencies, SCCER-FURIES is a partners’ governed center and its Work Plan is adjustable to the specific needs of the industrial partners.
Funding
SCCER-FURIES provides its partners with the seed-funds required for the development of their activities. SCCER-FURIES achievements facilitate the access of the partners to further funding opportunities.
During the Phase I, numerous innovative solutions were developed in collaboration with the industrial partners. The most promising of these solutions are under development during Phase II or will be deployed in the real grid in order to validate their compatibility with existing technologies and among each other. Knowledge and Technology transfer and training activities are implemented in parallel in order to ensure that the acquired knowledge is properly and adequately transferred to both industry and young scientists.