Tag: IWB

IWB takes over Kunz-Solartech

The Basel-based energy supplier IWB is acquiring Kunz-Solartech GmbH of Aargau. The takeover is intended to strengthen IWB’s position in the growth market for photovoltaic systems, the energy supplier explains in a corresponding statement. No details are given there about the purchase price.

IWB plans to expand its own production capacities for solar power to at least 100 megawatts by 2023. In addition, the company implements photovoltaic systems for private and business customers. The company’s subsidiary Planeco specialises in the construction of large and complex solar plants. Kunz-Solartech GmbH, which focuses on the planning and installation of photovoltaic systems for private customers and SMEs, is to round off IWB’s range of services.

“There are still far too many roofs without photovoltaics and the installation companies are working to full capacity,” Markus Balmer, Head of Sales at IWB, is quoted as saying in the statement. For Nico Knubel, Managing Director of Kunz-Solartech, on the other hand, IWB is “a large and established partner that offers our employees secure prospects for the future”. Under the IWB umbrella, his company can make even better use of the potential in the growing solar market and realise many more plants for its customers.

May 2023
IWB joins Sympheny

IWB takes a 30 percent stake in Sympheny . The young company based in Dübendorf has developed software that can compare possible energy solutions for buildings in a matter of seconds. IWB wants to use the knowledge gained from this in its own planning for the climate-friendly conversion of the energy supply.

“Affordable climate protection requires optimized energy supplies,” IWB introduces a post on LinkedIn about joining Sympheny. According to him, the company for energy, water and telecommunications in the canton of Basel-Stadt wants to support the spin-off of the Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute ( Empa ) with the fresh capital in the further development of their software. IWB writes that they are looking forward to working more closely with Sympheny co-founders Andrew Bollinger, Matthias Sulzer, Boran Morvaj and Julien Marquant.

According to a report on startupticker.ch, the software from the young company, which was only founded in 2020, has already been used in more than 20 major planning projects. Sympheny’s customers include “energy suppliers and general contractors from all over Switzerland,” it says. The energy planning software developed by Sympheny simulates the energy system to be examined with a digital twin. Algorithms and standardized geographic information data (GIS data) can be used to simulate the production, storage and consumption of energy.

February 2022
Basler Stadtwerke get involved in Energie Ausserschwyz

Energie Ausserschwyz AG wants to supply renewable heat and electricity for 7,000 households in the villages of Siebnen, Galgenen, Lachen, Altendorf, Pfäffikon and Freienbach in the Schwyz districts of March and Höfe by 2030. To this end, it is currently building a wood-fired thermal power station at its existing Bodenwies energy center in Galgenen. It should be heated with old, residual and forest wood from the region.

Now, as part of a capital increase, IWB are also joining the shareholders of Energie Ausserschwyz AG. According to a press release , Basler Stadtwerke now holds 20 percent of the capital. The regional energy supplier EW Höfe will remain the main shareholder. Brugg Group AG and Züger Unternehmerungen AG are also involved in the district heating operator.

IWB sees their participation as a continuation of their previous strategy. "Energie Ausserschwyz focuses on a heat supply from regional, renewable sources", its CEO Claus Schmidt is quoted in the announcement. “IWB can bring its experience from climate-friendly district heating supply to Energie Ausserschwyz and benefits from its strong presence in the Upper Lake Zurich region. IWB had already joined Agro Energie Schwyz AG at the beginning of 2021 , which operates a district heating network in the Schwyz basin.

December 2021
Basler Stadtwerke get involved in Energie Ausserschwyz

Energie Ausserschwyz AG wants to supply renewable heat and electricity for 7,000 households in the villages of Siebnen, Galgenen, Lachen, Altendorf, Pfäffikon and Freienbach in the Schwyz districts of March and Höfe by 2030. To this end, it is currently building a wood-fired thermal power station at its existing Bodenwies energy center in Galgenen. It should be heated with old, residual and forest wood from the region.

Now, as part of a capital increase, IWB are also joining the shareholders of Energie Ausserschwyz AG. According to a press release , Basler Stadtwerke now holds 20 percent of the capital. The regional energy supplier EW Höfe will remain the main shareholder. Brugg Group AG and Züger Unternehmerungen AG are also involved in the district heating operator.

IWB sees their participation as a continuation of their previous strategy. “Energie Ausserschwyz focuses on a heat supply from regional, renewable sources”, its CEO Claus Schmidt is quoted in the announcement. “IWB can bring its experience from climate-friendly district heating supply to Energie Ausserschwyz and benefits from its strong presence in the Upper Lake Zurich region. IWB had already joined Agro Energie Schwyz AG at the beginning of 2021 , which operates a district heating network in the Schwyz basin.

December 2021
Schwarm finances IWB's second solar system

Tenants without their own roof helped finance IWB ‘s second solar system. You have acquired an individual share in the planned solar system on the Spittelmatthof near Riehen BS through the participation model Sonnenbox Crowd. In return, they will receive an electricity credit of 100 kilowatt hours per invested square meter over a period of 20 years.

This second system is 350 square meters and will have an output of 72 kilowatts. That corresponds roughly to the electricity needs of 25 to 30 households. As stated in a press release , it only took a few weeks to fully finance them.

The preparations for its construction were already under way. It should be completed by the middle of next year. The installation of the first swarm-financed system is also imminent. It is being erected on a roof by IWB in Basel’s Gundeli district. “The great demand spurs us on to offer the people of Basel more solar systems soon,” Martin Albrecht, product manager of the Sonnenbox Crowd, is quoted as saying. “We are looking for other suitable roofs for this.”

November 2021
The first Swiss hydrogen hub is being built in the Rhine ports

The first Swiss hydrogen hub is to be built in the port areas of Birsfelden and Muttenz. According to a press release, four partner companies have agreed on this. Swiss Rhine ports , the energy company Varo , the filling station operator AVIA and the Basel energy supplier IWB have signed a joint declaration of intent for the construction of such a hydrogen node. As a green energy carrier, hydrogen will play an important role in the CO2-neutral future, according to the press release.

The four partners from the energy industry and logistics see the ports of Muttenz and Birsfelden as ideal locations for a hydrogen hub, according to the joint media release published by Varo. The H2-Hub Schweiz project should include the production, distribution and use of hydrogen. The plans envisage not only distributing the hydrogen with the existing infrastructure, but also producing, storing and making available the green energy on site. The tank storage company AVIA AG and the energy company Varo Energy Holding AG are already active in the Rhine ports.

IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel) produces and sells renewable and CO2-neutral energy as electricity, heating and cooling and for mobility. According to the announcement, IWB founded GreenH2 AG together with the petrol station operator and AVIA member company Fritz Meyer AG. The company is to build hydrogen production plants.

Applications of hydrogen will soon be tested in the H2 hub Switzerland as a fuel for trucks, trains, other road vehicles and ships.

August 2021
Axpo implements alpine solar systems with partners

The large-scale solar system originally initiated by Axpo on the Muttsee dam is becoming the AlpinSolar joint project between Denner, Axpo and IWB . As everyone said in a press release of the same name, the energy suppliers Axpo and IWB will install and commission the largest alpine solar system in Switzerland in the summer. Almost 5,000 solar modules are to produce around 3.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year on the south-facing dam. Discounter Denner will take it off for 20 years.

At 2500 meters above sea level, a lot of renewable energy can be generated even in the winter months. Since the system is installed on an existing dam, it is particularly environmentally friendly. This is another reason why AlpinSolar is “a system that the energy transition needs”.

Nevertheless, “due to the lack of framework conditions, such systems are hardly economically feasible today”, regrets Axpo CEO Christoph Brand. “Nevertheless, we decided, together with strong partners, to implement this lighthouse project” and “to set an example”. "We see the project as an important contribution to the discussion for the upcoming legislative revisions."

IWB, the energy supplier for the canton of Basel-Stadt, has a 49 percent share in the project. It goes well with the company, says IWB CEO Claus Schmidt, because "the expansion of electricity production from solar energy also in Switzerland" is part of its own strategy.

January 2021
IWB takes a stake in Agro Energie Schwyz

IWB continues to grow with renewable energies. According to its own information, it joins the heating network of Agro Energie Schwyz AG ( AES ). Since 2006, it has built a modern network of over 100 kilometers in the Schwyz valley basin with state-of-the-art production facilities. A wood-fired thermal power station , an ORC system and a biogas system supply around 1,500 customers. The aim of AES is to build and operate a regional, independent and CO2-neutral energy supply in the region. The operator also attaches great importance to local added value.

IWB takes over shares from the largest shareholder, the Profond pension fund. Profond was looking for an investor with proven expertise in heat supply and a credible ecological focus. With this investment, IWB is following its strategy of decarbonising the heat supply, also outside the canton of Basel-Stadt.

"Agro Energie Schwyz is an innovative, rapidly growing company with a clear focus on renewable energy supply," explains IWB CEO Dr. Claus Schmidt choosing his company. "As the operator of the largest Swiss district heating network, IWB can contribute its vast experience in the heating network and at the same time expand its leading position in renewable heating."

January 2021
Basel begins converting to electric buses

Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe ( BVB ) are planning to procure a total of 126 electric buses by 2027. The BVG are thus implementing the statutory mandate to operate their public transport services in the canton of Basel-Stadt with 100 percent renewable energy by 2027. In the coming days, BVB will tender the first procurement phase for 62 e-buses. They are scheduled to go into operation in 2022. "I am pleased that after a long planning phase we can finally take the first concrete steps towards an environmentally friendly and modern e-bus system", BVB director Bruno Stehrenberger is quoted in a media release .

The services for the general planner of Garage Rank are also being put out to tender these days. It will be completely rebuilt between 2023 and 2027 because it no longer meets today's requirements. At a later point in time, living space is also to be realized there. During this construction phase, the buses will be parked on two replacement areas.

Industrielle Werke Basel ( IWB ) is responsible for setting up a corresponding charging structure in Garage Rank and in the provisional parking areas. In addition, the IWB will install so-called occasional charging points at five terminal stops, where buses can recharge electricity while they are waiting. This increases their range and makes the entire bus network more flexible.

Converting the bus fleet will cost a total of around 360 million francs. Of this, around 147 million Swiss francs go to the procurement of the e-buses. The construction of the new Garage Rank, the temporary fixtures and other minor infrastructure adjustments cost around 161 million francs. The costs for setting up the charging infrastructure by IWB amount to around 52 million francs. The corresponding loan application is now with the Grand Council.

September 2020