immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Category: Wallis

  • More inflows to Valais, losses in Zurich and Vaud

    More inflows to Valais, losses in Zurich and Vaud

    A total of 37,816 companies moved within Switzerland last year, CRIF AG reported in a press release. The credit agency analysed the corresponding movements of companies within Switzerland. According to its surveys, 80.6 per cent of companies relocated within the canton. Only 7470 companies moved to another canton.

    Valais ranks first in terms of inflows from other cantons, with a net inflow of 88 companies. The canton of Valais was able to attract companies from the cantons of Vaud and Geneva in particular. The cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Fribourg also recorded high net immigration of 65 and 39 companies respectively. The canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden mainly attracted companies from St.Gallen, Zurich and Zug. Companies from the cantons of Vaud, Bern and Geneva were the main movers to Fribourg.

    At the other end of the scale are the cantons of Zurich, Vaud and Lucerne. The canton of Zurich lost a net total of 133 companies to other cantons in Switzerland. From the cantons of Vaud and Lucerne, 87 and 61 companies respectively moved to other cantons.

    The cantons of Zug, Aargau and Schwyz were the main beneficiaries of the migration from the canton of Zurich. Many companies from Vaud relocated to the cantons of Geneva, Valais and Fribourg. Companies from Lucerne mainly relocated to the cantons of Zug, Zurich and Aargau.

  • New grid platform facilitates self-consumption of solar power and battery storage

    New grid platform facilitates self-consumption of solar power and battery storage

    According to a press release,Evaarist is launching a grid platform “for the democratisation of energy self-sufficiency”. The Sion-based start-up wants to enable more owners of existing solar installations to consume more of their solar production themselves. In addition to the autarcie.ch platform for controlling solar power from the roof, Evaarist also offers easy-to-install battery packs.

    “Energy self-sufficiency is something that is close to our hearts,” says Loïc Viret. He founded Evaarist 2023 with Julien Morard and Stéphane Curchod. The engineering firm specialises in renewable energies and energy self-sufficiency and launched the autarcie.ch platform as part of the Espace Innothèque at the Foire du Valais 2024, according to the press release.

    Evaarist’s considerations were based on the observation that almost 98 per cent of the 240,000 or so existing solar installations in Switzerland are not equipped with batteries. Evaarist offers universal battery systems for solar roofs. A battery pack is installed in parallel with the electricity grid, the solar modules and the existing inverters. “This will make it possible to store and work with additional energy. And above all, the degree of self-sufficiency can be increased to 65 to 85 per cent, compared to 20 to 30 per cent without batteries,” Viret is quoted as saying.

    Furthermore, Evaarist wants to bring the material directly from the manufacturer to the customer and the installation will largely be carried out as a “do it yourself” project. Thanks to an agreement with a German importer, autarcie.ch offers battery packs from CHF 5800 for 10 kilowatt hours.

    Autarcie.ch is not an anti-blackout system. “But our systems can be equipped to work if the grid fails,” Viret is quoted as saying.

  • Switzerland’s first low-pressure turbine commissioned in Martigny-Bourg

    Switzerland’s first low-pressure turbine commissioned in Martigny-Bourg

    The Forces Motrices de Martigny-Bourg (FMMB) have commissioned Switzerland’s first low-pressure turbine. As Alpiq writes in a press release, 850,000 kilowatt hours of electricity can now be generated per year in the underwater channel of the river power plant on the Dranse. The power plant’s current three production units generate 89 million kilowatt hours per year.

    Depending on the flow rate, the low-pressure turbine can turbine between 1.25 and 10.2 cubic metres of water per second. It is designed for a head of up to 2.5 metres. It has no additional impact on the environment and does not affect existing electricity production. “The installation of this new low-pressure turbine makes it possible to make the best possible use of the available water resources while at the same time being considerate of the environment,” said power plant manager Georges-Alain Zuber in the press release.

    Planning for the plant began in 2011. It is being subsidised with funds from the cost-covering feed-in remuneration.

    The power plant was built in 1908 as an electricity generator for Electro-Chimie de Paris. Today, the municipalities of Bovernier with 23.04 per cent, Sembrancher with 18.72 per cent, Martigny with 17.22 per cent, Martigny-Combe with 15.58 per cent and Vollèges with 1.64 per cent as well as Alpiq with 18 per cent and the Valais energy supplier FMV with 5.8 per cent have a stake in FMMB.

  • Burkhalter Group acquires Kippel building technology in Valais

    Burkhalter Group acquires Kippel building technology in Valais

    The Burkhalter Group has acquired Kippel Leo + Söhne AG in Susten VS with effect from 1 July, according to a press release. Kippel has been operating successfully in the regional market in the canton of Valais for over 50 years and offers services in heating, sanitary and solar technology, according to the Zurich-based building technology specialist. Kippel employs around 20 people and generates an annual turnover of around CHF 6 million.

    Kippel Leo + Söhne AG will be merged with Lauber IWISA AG, which already belongs to the Burkhalter Group and is also based in Naters in Upper Valais, with effect from 1 January 2025. The site will reportedly be retained and all employees will be kept on. The current owners Adolf and Flavian Kippel will continue to work for the company. According to Burkhalter, gaining additional market share through the targeted acquisition of other building technology companies remains part of the strategy.

    At the end of 2023, the Burkhalter Group employed 5,185 people in 84 Group companies at 158 locations in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, 971 of whom were apprentices. The holding company, which is headquartered in Zurich, is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.