A selection from our current projects illustrates our work in hand. Should any synergy between your business and ours appear, feel free to enquire within our organization.
Please note that for confidentiality reasons only public projects are displayed. Generally, projects that are carried out for private clients are subject to non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements.
Research project
StoWaDim-WRG – Efficiency and Storage Sizing with Shower Water Heat Recovery
In modern, well-insulated buildings, the relative share of hot water demand in total heat demand is steadily increasing. Since showering significantly determines hot water demand and daily hot water peaks, heat recovery from shower wastewater offers considerable potential for increasing energy efficiency. Furthermore, depending on…
Research project
HydAb – Increase of comfort and efficiency by new concepts for hydraulic balancing of heat distribution in residential buildings
The importance of hydraulic balancing of heat distribution systems for energy-efficient building operation and resident comfort has long been recognized. Nevertheless, it can be stated that there is a lack of expertise and still far too often insufficient implementations occur in practice. Companies have also noticed this gap and…
Research project
Achilles – Advanced Characterization of Photovoltaics for Hail Resistance
Fortunately, the number of PV systems on Swiss roofs is constantly increasing. However, climate change is also expected to increase the number of hail events and thus hail damage. When glass breaks, a module must always be replaced. However, it is often not easy to determine whether the module is so badly damaged that replacement…
Research project
PeakMetal – Covering winter peaks of heat and electricity demand by «renewable metal fuels»
Renewable Metal Fuels (ReMeF) are seasonal energy carriers which are able to enhance the energy security. We investigate the contribution that ReMeF can make as combined heat and power elements of the building stock a) to cover the local demand for electricity and heat and b) to feed electricity into the grid to support the energy…
Research project
CoSoG4PV – Certification of (colored) Solar Glass for PV-modules
Introduced in 2002, the «SPF Solar Glass Certificate» has become a widely used tool for quality assurance in the solar thermal industry worldwide and was extended to solar glass for PV modules in 2012. As part of the certification, the influence of transmission, its change due to solarization and the incidence angle modifier (IAM)…
Research project
ModIceCrys – CFD Numerical modelling and experimental analysis of ice crystallizers for supercooling flows
To complete the deployment of the ice slurry technology using the supercooling water, modelling and design tools for the scalability of crystallizers are required. These tools may ensure a controlled and reliable operation of crystallizers, avoiding upstream ice propagation and exergetic losses, and high-efficiency supercooling…
Research project
AsphaltReg – Demonstration and optimization of a recyclable asphalt collector for the regeneration of geothermal probes
This project is the first to build, measure and optimise a recyclable asphalt collector for the regeneration of geothermal probes.
The background to this pilot and demonstration project is the increasingly dense use of geothermal probes, which leads to long-term cooling of the subsoil. Studies show that there is a considerable…
Research project
RoRoStrat – Round Robin Storage tank stratification
Thermal stratification is an important parameter in the energy evaluation of storage tanks. The electrical energy consumption in a heat pump system can be up to 40 % lower with a well stratified storage tank than with a poorly stratified thermal energy storage.
In the StorEx project, SPF introduced stratification efficiency as a…
Research project
REVEAL – Revolutionary Energy Storage Cycle with Carbon-Free Aluminium
SPF has the technical lead in the EU Horizon Europe project reveal. Within this project, a seasonal energy storage cycle is developed that is based on the oxidation and reduction of aluminum as an energy carrier. The main responsibilities of SPF, besides the technical lead, is the development of technologies for Alu-to-Energy…
Research project
SolIndustrias – Solar thermal energy for Ecuador's industry
The city of Cuenca in Ecuador is committed to sustainable development and decarbonization and aims to become an Energy City (modelled on the Swiss Energy City). To achieve this ambitious goal, the implementation of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy technologies is being driven forward, involving all major energy…
Research project
HT-PCM – Feasibility assessment for a high temperature phase change material storage
The project HT-PCM aims at providing a feasibility study of using phase change materials (PCM), e.g. erythritol, as storage solution for temperature ranges in between 110 °C to 120 °C. The storage concept is designed to be integrated with solar thermal collectors to provide solar process heat to industries. The proposed PCM…
Research project
RepicKuba – Climate-neutral cooling with the sun in Cuba
In this project, an air conditioning system is being developed for tropical, humid climate regions that can both cool and dehumidify rooms. A compressor refrigeration machine is used, which is fed directly from a solar system.
