SWEET Program Awards Funding to Empa-Led Consortium Tackling Switzerland’s Net-Zero Challenges

Concrete could store considerable amounts of CO₂ if conventional aggregates were replaced by pellets made from biochar. Image: Empa

(IN BRIEF) Empa will lead the ACHIEVE consortium, the winner of Switzerland’s SWEET funding program’s Net-Zero call, to address hard-to-abate CO₂ emissions in sectors such as industry and agriculture. The project brings together 14 partners from academia, business, and civil society to develop scalable climate-neutral solutions, including sustainable biomass use, emission reduction in agriculture, and circular economy strategies for industry. It will also explore carbon capture, utilization, and storage options, including geological storage and biochar in construction. The consortium, supported by CHF 19.6 million from SWEET within a total budget of CHF 30.6 million, will begin work at the end of 2025 for a six-year period. Empa’s Nathalie Casas emphasized the initiative’s role in developing science-based pathways to net zero with tangible impact on politics and industry.

(PRESS RELEASE) DÜBENDORF, 29-Sep-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Empa will coordinate a major new national initiative aimed at tackling Switzerland’s most difficult greenhouse gas challenges after being awarded funding through the SWEET program’s “Net-Zero” call. The winning project, known as ACHIEVE, brings together a consortium of 14 partners from research, industry, and civil society to develop scalable solutions for emissions that are hard to eliminate, particularly in the industrial and agricultural sectors.

The ACHIEVE consortium will focus on creating practical pathways to a climate-neutral Switzerland. Areas of work include exploring how to use biomass more efficiently in cascades, reducing emissions from agriculture and food systems, and advancing circular economy models that support industrial decarbonization. The team will also investigate options for capturing carbon directly from emission sources or the atmosphere and ensuring permanent storage, whether in products, construction materials such as concrete with biochar aggregates, or in geological formations.

Beyond scientific research, ACHIEVE will collaborate closely with political, industrial, and social stakeholders to ensure that the project’s findings can translate quickly into policy and practice. The six-year program has a total budget of CHF 30.6 million, with CHF 19.6 million financed by SWEET. It is expected to launch at the end of 2025.

“Our goal is to bring together the expertise of Switzerland’s leading research institutions with the innovation capacity of industry to design practical, science-based strategies for achieving net zero,” said Nathalie Casas, Empa Directorate member and Head of the Energy, Mobility and Environment Department, who will coordinate the project. “This collaboration will deliver solutions that can make a difference in both politics and business in the near future.”

The consortium includes ETH Zurich, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), WSL, the University of Geneva, HEIG-VD, SUPSI, the University of Bern, the University of Neuchâtel, CLB Switzerland, the Risk Dialogue Foundation, INFRAS, TBF+Partner, and Storra Dynamics GmbH, alongside Empa as the lead institution.

The SWEET funding program (Swiss Energy Research for the Energy Transition)