immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Helion

  • Helion realizes major solar project at Tensol Rail

    Helion realizes major solar project at Tensol Rail

    Tensol Rail SA has put a photovoltaic system with 3082.18 kilowatt peak into operation. It was installed by the Cham-based company Helion, which describes itself as the Swiss market leader for photovoltaics, heat pumps, electricity storage and charging stations for electric cars. The order was placed by Energie Pool Schweiz(EPS).

    According to a statement from Helion, this installation is both one of the company’s largest projects and one of the largest in the region. A total of 8111 modules and 18 inverters were installed on two different transformer stations. This will reportedly save 350 tons of CO2 emissions per year. All of the electricity generated by the photovoltaic system on the roof of Tensol Rail is used for internal production.

    The management of the Ticino-based manufacturer of railroad superstructure materials and racks for rack-and-pinion railroads reportedly decided to make this extensive investment because the significant increase in energy prices in 2023 has had a negative impact on business results. CEO Roberto Ballina is convinced that the new plant will soon show results, “certainly thanks to the excellent work of Helion and our partner EPS. We are very happy to have invested in this project, which we hope will offer us a promising perspective for the future.”

  • Helion opens training centre for the energy transition

    Helion opens training centre for the energy transition

    Helion has opened its own training centre. At the Helion TrainingCenter, future specialists in the energy sector learn hands-on “just like on a real construction site”, according to a media release from the provider of energy solutions on the opening. The training centre consists of a model single-family house with a pitched and flat roof in original size. It offers space for the training of more than 200 solar specialists per year. In addition, 50 training courses per year are possible.

    The goal is eight to ten apprenticeships per year. People coming from other backgrounds could also be qualified to become solar specialists through adult education. Thanks to the linking of photovoltaics, electromobility, bidirectional charging and heat pumps, the training centre covers the training of specialists for both the energy and mobility sectors. “Both areas will shape the future,” Anja Bates, head of HR at the AMAG Group, is quoted as saying. Helion is part of AMAG.

    With a total area of 200 square metres, the facility forms the most comprehensive learning environment for renewable energies in Switzerland. The training centre can meet the “high quality demand for urgently needed specialists”, Frank Rutschmann, head of the Renewable Energies Section at the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, is quoted as saying. They are “our capital for the expansion of renewable energies”.

    Helion has already been training new staff on its own initiative for four years, including numerous lateral entrants. Before the creation of the solar training programmes for “solar installers and solar installers with a federal vocational certificate”, they were taught the skills in a two-week course. This laid the foundation for the Helion TrainingCenter. It is supported by the Federal Office of Energy and the Canton of Solothurn.

  • AMAG acquires solar specialist Helion

    AMAG acquires solar specialist Helion

    AMAG , based in Cham, is acquiring the Helion division of the Zug-based company Bouygues Energies & Services . The car dealership reached a contractual agreement on this with the provider of building and energy supply technology on September 2, according to a media release .

    Accordingly, the purchase should be completed by the beginning of November. The Helion division, which specializes in photovoltaics, heat pumps and e-mobility, is to be fully integrated into the newly founded AMAG Energy & Mobility business unit of AMAG Group AG as an independent stock corporation. AMAG will take on all of Helion's employees as part of a business takeover.

    The AMAG Group specializes in the import and sale of Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Cupra and VW Commercial Vehicles vehicles. In the future, she would like to “develop into the leading provider of sustainable individual mobility”. In the field of electromobility, the company wants to use the takeover of the solar specialist to offer its customers new services and to produce the electricity itself to operate the electric vehicles it sells.

    "Helion makes it possible to offer our private customers complete solutions for everything to do with electromobility via our trading and service partner network," Helmut Ruhl, CEO of the AMAG Group, is quoted in the media release.

    The newly founded AMAG Energy & Mobility division is headed by Martin Everts. He was previously Head of Corporate Development at AMAG and is a proven energy expert. According to the information, Helion will continue to be managed by the previous management team around the two founders Noah Heynen and Samuel Beer.

  • Sale of Helion to the AMAG Group

    Sale of Helion to the AMAG Group

    in Switzerland, Bouygues Energies & Services is the market leader in the areas of building technology, facility management and energy supply technology to promote the energy transition. The sale takes place against the background of Bouygues Energies & Services' increased focus on its core activity, the integrated planning, development and management of commercial real estate, sites, industrial plants and portfolios.

    During the negotiations, Bouygues Energies & Services attached particular importance to ensuring that no employees would be made redundant in connection with the sale of the Helion division. The AMAG Group meets this requirement and will take on all of Helion's employees.

    Comprehensive energy solutions for the B2B market
    With the sale, Bouygues Energies & Services is increasingly focusing on comprehensive energy solutions in the B2B market, in which the Swiss company is traditionally firmly anchored. In view of the challenges that the energy transition entails for private individuals and companies, the sale of Helion offers all parties involved excellent opportunities to offer customers in their respective market segments more solutions for saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions.

    The sale will have no impact on Bouygues Energies & Services and Helion customers. All ongoing projects will be continued and implemented according to the agreed conditions.

    Bouygues Energies & Services
    Bouygues is a global family business. With around 100 locations in Switzerland, Bouygues Energies & Services is locally anchored, nationally active and globally networked. We employ around 5,000 people across Switzerland, 350 of whom are apprentices. Thanks to our worldwide experience and our regional know-how, we are your ideal partner for innovative services in the areas of building technology, facility & property management, energy supply, traffic engineering, telecommunications, process automation, photovoltaics and e-mobility.

  • Women's power for the energy transition

    Women's power for the energy transition

    Im Energiesektor ist der Frauenanteil seit jeher gering, in Führungspositionen erst recht. Die Bedingungen sind für Frauen schwieriger als für Männer. Das beginnt schon bei der Ausbildung, denn Frauen trauen sich immer noch zu selten, mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche oder technische Berufe zu ergreifen. Dabei bringen sie nicht weniger mathematisches oder technisches Verständnis mit, sind aber gleichzeitig stark am Gemeinwohl und an Innovationen interessiert.  

    Klimabewegung in weiblicher Hand 
    Eine gute Nachricht vorweg: Der Frauenanteil im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien wächst stärker als im konventionellen Energiesektor. Ein möglicher Grund könnte das steigende Bewusstsein für den Klimawandel sein, denn schlussendlich ist weltweit die Klimabewegung weitgehend weiblich. Zudem geben Frauen als Grund für ihre Berufswahl häufig an, mit ihrer Tätigkeit etwas Sinnvolles tun zu wollen. Frauenpower ist also erwünscht: Denn es ist längst erwiesen, dass Unternehmen von einer vielfältigeren Belegschaft und einem gemischten Führungsteam nachhaltig profitieren.

    Doch wie sieht es eigentlich beim Energielösungsunternehmen Helion aus, dass in einer typischerweise Männer dominierten Branche tätig ist. Oder ist dem überhaupt so? Und wo genau sind die Frauen im Unternehmen zu finden? Wir haben nachgefragt: Derzeit machen Frauen nur 12 Prozent der Belegschaft aus und sind vor allem in den Bereichen Marketing, Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Personalwesen anzutreffen. Aber nicht nur! Weitere Infos auf www.helion.ch News.

  • AMAG Winterthur puts new solar system into operation

    AMAG Winterthur puts new solar system into operation

    The AMAG Group has put a new photovoltaic system into operation at its Winterthur location, informs the automotive trading group for all brands of the Volkswagen Group in a message . The system built by Helion with an output of around 157 kilowatts peak was installed on the roof of the AMAG building for Volkswagen and VW commercial vehicles. The group intends to use around 60 to 65 percent of the approximately 158 megawatt hours of solar power expected annually.

    “With the solar energy obtained from the photovoltaic system, we can cover around 60 percent of our electricity requirements at the Zürcherstrasse 312 location in Winterthur,” Martin Zgraggen, Managing Director of AMAG Winterthur, is quoted in the press release. “The increasing number of electric vehicles means that more electricity is required, which the new solar system supplies us.”

    The AMAG buildings for the Audi and Skoda brands in Winterthur were equipped with a solar system back in 2013, the press release explains. The group had the first photovoltaic system installed on the roof of its central spare parts warehouse in Buchs ZH in 2008. In the current year, in addition to the new system in Winterthur, two further solar systems were installed in Wettswil am Albis ZH and in Basel.

    The automobile trading group with its headquarters in Cham ZG wants to be completely climate-neutral by 2025. To this end, solar systems are to be installed on an area of around 50,000 square meters by 2024. The group is looking into a deployment for a further 100,000 square meters of space at AMAG locations.