armasuisse Energy Day – The technology platform for a safe, future energy supply for the Armed Forces
In this article, we are focusing on the Energy Day of armasuisse Science and Technology (S+T). This was held for the first time in 2021 and now takes place every two years. Here, representatives from the administration, industry and the Armed Forces come together and focus on the current and future challenges of the DDPS regarding the topic of energy.
Lucas Ballerstedt, Staff, armasuisse Science and Technology
The Energy Day is a technology platform for industry and authorities on the topic of sustainable energy solutions. Here, common challenges are identified and the cooperation and knowledge transfer reinforced at various different levels. armasuisse S+T can thus further cement its expertise in the area of sustainable energy solutions.
Energy sustainability has long been an important topic for armasuisse. In particular in the area of real estate, where 100% of the electricity requirement already comes from renewable energy. armasuisse places particular emphasis on the optimal utilisation of suitable locations for energy generation. But sustainability goes far beyond this. The Swiss Armed Forces consume around 3,600 terajoules of energy a year, which corresponds to around one-sixth of the annual production of the Beznau nuclear power plant and half of the annual power consumption of the city of Zurich. Although this only amounts to just under 1% of the total annual energy consumption of Switzerland, this requirement must be covered in all circumstances. As, for example, in the event of mobilisation of the troops.
External dependencies and developments
Switzerland obtains around 70% of its energy from abroad, mainly due to its dependency on fossil fuels. Essentially, this also applies for the Swiss Armed Forces, which rely on the provision of energy by industry and business. The external framework conditions for a sustainable, secure provision of the required energy for Switzerland have changed rather for the worse. The COVID-19 pandemic thus demonstrated the vulnerability of the global supply chain and the associated supply agreements. In addition, the reduction in the supply of natural gas of Russian origin was a reminder that supply bottlenecks can occur not just for very specialised goods, but can also lead to the scarcity of goods available worldwide. In the energy sector, too, armasuisse S+T as the technology centre of the DDPS aims to identify technological developments at an early stage and ensure expertise for assessing and implementing innovative solutions.
armasuisse Energy Day
armasuisse S+T launched the Energy Day to present potential solutions for the secure provisioning of electricity, fuel and combustibles based on renewable energies. This event sees representatives from the administration, industry and the Armed Forces coming together to discuss the topic of energy. The event brings together various different target groups, offers a platform for possible proposed solutions and focuses each time on a specific topic. Last year’s event was thus devoted to the topic «Energy availability for defence». The target vision is energy self-sufficiency – in other words, the self-supply of energy – at least for essential facilities and systems of defence. However, the Energy Day, which takes place every two years, also serves to mediate projects and schemes which armasuisse implements for the Armed Forces taking into account the sustainability goals. Thematically, the Energy Day will be devoted to other key topics in the energy area over the coming years, such as the drive technology for mobility or the storage of energy.
