Interview with Christoph Sutter and Energy Business Review

1. What are some of the major challenges and trends that have been impacting the Energy industry lately?

The electricity market is currently being shaken by several crises. Electricity prices are at historic highs, and electricity producers are struggling with liquidity bottlenecks. Gas could become scarce because of the war in Ukraine. And due to the lack of an electricity agreement, Switzerland is threatened with electricity shortages in winter from 2025. It has been a long time since the energy sector has been so much in the public eye and in such a state of change. In today's situation, it is therefore all the more important to expand renewable energies quickly and to find good solutions for transferring green electricity from summer to winter.

2. What keeps you up at night when it comes to some of the major predicaments in the Energy industry space?

The current situation, as mentioned before, is a major challenge for Switzerland and for Europe as a whole. There is no single and quick solution. It needs the brains and the know-how of many and it needs cooperation between the countries.

3. Can you tell us about the latest project that you have been working on and what are some of the technological and process elements that you leveraged to make the project successful?

Axpo commissioned a 5 MW solar plant with floating solar panels in France just a few weeks ago. Approximately 14,000 solar modules were installed on interconnected floats to create a solar island. The big advantage here is that the plant does not use any agricultural or industrial land, which has often been a point of criticism in connection to solar power plants in France. Such plants have enormous potential and should be increasingly built on.

4. Which are some of the technological trends which excite you for the future of the Energy industry space?

With Axpo, we have been working on implementing hydrogen projects for several months. Green hydrogen is a major growth area with great potential. Just recently, we were able to communicate the next step in the project for a 15 MW plant in Switzerland. In addition to hydrogen, we are also developing new battery solutions for smart storage of renewable energies.

5. How can budding and evolving companies reach you for suggestions to streamline their business?

We are actively looking for co-developers of projects in the field of PV, wind, hydrogen and batteries in various European countries. Please contact us if you have projects and you are looking for an experienced partner with development and trading experience.