Riehen’s geothermal plant is the biggest and oldest in Switzerland. For more than 30 years, it has been providing Riehen’s households with constant geothermal heat. The current project “Geo2Riehen” will extend the existing network, making it a trans-border network (CH-DE).
Find out more here.
Travel time from ZH by bus: 1.5 hours
Duration of visit: from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm (max. 60 participants)
Tour programme:
8:00 am: Departure Congress Centre ZH
9:30 am: Welcome at Riehen
9:45 am to 10:30 am: Presentation Geothermal Energy Riehen
10:30 am to 12:30 am: Guided tours of the Riehen geothermal plant (in 2 or 3 groups)
12:30 am to 01:30 pm: Stand-up lunch
01:30 pm: Departure from Riehen
This project aims at producing electricity and heat in a geothermal plant supplied by two boreholes approximately 5 kilometers deep. It is a pilot project in hot dry rock, designed as a technological demonstrator to pave the way for future projects. It is based on the multi-stage stimulation technology developed by Geo-Energie Suisse. The first well was drilled to 4,000 meters in 2024.
Find out more here.
Travel time from ZH by bus: 1 hour 50 minutes
Duration of visit: From 08:00 am to 16:30 pm (max. 60 participants)
Tour programme:
08:00 am: Departure from Zurich Kongresshaus
10:00 am: Arrival at Glovelier drilling site
12:30 pm: Lunch in Glovelier
01:30 pm: Presentation of the EGS success story in the US
02:30 pm: Back to Zurich
04:30 pm: Arrival in Zurich
The most mineral-rich thermal water in Switzerland and a long tradition of wellness treatments: Baden honours its name, which means “bath” in German. Discover the story of this iconic thermal town.
Find out more here.
Travel time from ZH by bus: 45 minutes
Duration of visit: from 8:15 am to 1:30 pm (max. 50 participants)
Tour programme:
8:15 am: Departure from Zurich
09:00 am -10:00 am: Welcome and presentation of the Geothermal Hotspot Baden and History of City of Baden, “city of thermal bath”
10:00 am -12:00 am: Guided tour with the option to have a bath in a public pool
12:00 am – 01:00 pm: Stand-up Lunch
01:00 pm – 01:30: Back to Zurich
The Grob family has been committed to sustainable vegetable production for years. The vision of a “natural power vegetable growing company” in Basadingen-Schlattingen is to ensure fossil-free and climate-neutral food production using local energy sources such as geothermal energy, photovoltaics, process waste heat and biomass.
Find out more here.
Travel time from ZH by bus: 1 hour
Duration of visit: from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm (max. 40 participants)
Tour programme:
08: 30 am: Departure Congress Centre ZH
09: 30 am: Welcome in Grob Gemuse
9:45 am to 10:45 am: Presentations
10:45 am to 12:00 pm: Visit of the installation
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm: Stand-up Lunch
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm: Back to Zurich by Bus
2:00 pm: Arrival Congress Center ZH
The concept of using groundwater, which provides heating and cooling for the headquarters of Omega, Swatch, and the Cité du Temps, is unique in Switzerland. It is based on a sophisticated exchange and storage system that optimally utilizes local geothermal conditions while taking the infrastructure into account. In total, nine wells are distributed across the site.
Travel time from ZH by bus: 2 hours
Duration of visit: from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm (max. 40 participants)
Tour programme:
08:30 am: Departure Congress Centre ZH
10:30 am to 12:30 pm: Presentation/Tour (split into two groups)
Visit with Julien Perret, Swatch/Omega, Emanuel Huber, GEOTEST and Vincent Badoux, B-Geo and Member of the Board of Geothermie-Suisse
12:30 pm to 01:30 pm: Lunch
01:30 pm to 03:30 pm: Back to Zurich by Bus
The BedrettoLab is a unique research facility managed by ETH Zurich that allows close observation of the Earth’s interior. It is located in the Swiss Alps at a depth of 1.5 kilometers, in the middle of a 5.2-kilometer tunnel connecting Ticino to the Furka railway tunnel. Equipped with the latest technologies, it offers ideal conditions for conducting experimental research focused on the behavior of the deep underground when accessed and stimulated. The access and research site are of great importance for gaining new insights in various fields such as geothermal energy and earthquake physics. In addition, the laboratory plays a key role in the development of new technologies and sensors.
Find out more here.
WARNING: Participants need to be in good physical condition (5 km walk carrying 4 kg)
Travel time from ZH by bus: 2.5 hours
Duration of visit: from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm (max. 40 participants)
Tour programme:
08:00 am: Departure from Zurich
10:30 am: Arrival at Bedretto Lab
10:30 am -1:00 pm: Presentations and Tour
1:30 pm -3:00 pm: Lunch
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm Back to Zurich
The GEG group conducts research on the dynamics of geophysical subsurface fluids, including multiphase, multicomponent, and reactive fluids (groundwater, hydrocarbons, CO₂, magma), as well as energy transfer (heat, pressure) across multiple scales. Their work involves computer simulations, laboratory experiments, and field analyses.
Find out more about GEG.
Travel time from ZH: 0 hours
Duration of visit: from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm (max. 20 participants)
Tour programme:
9:00 am: Welcome at ETHZ (Institute of Geophysics)
9:00 am -11:00 am: Presentation of activities of Geothermal Energy and Geofluids Groups
11:00 am -12:00 am: Networking Aperitif
The underground future lab: Visit the newly awarded underground re-search infrastructure of national importance. Specialists from around the world use this perfect un-derground infrastructure as a research and innovation laboratory.
09:00 am: Departure Congress Centre ZH by bus
10:00 am: Arrival in Hagerbach Test Gallery
10:30 am to 12:00 am: Presentations in the Steigersaal:
12:00 am to 01:30 pm: Catering and Networking
01:30 pm to 03:00 pm: Guided Tour (25 people / group)
03:00 pm: Departure to Zurich by bus
04:00 pm: Arrival Congress Centre ZH
Zurich Airport is a hub for international transport, one of Switzerland’s largest commercial centers, an industrial site, and a major workplace. The complex is also one of the largest energy consumers in the country. Geothermal systems – particularly energy piles – are the backbone of its heating and cooling supply. They are used in all new buildings at Zurich Airport.
New projects for utilising geothermal energy are currently in development.
Travel time from ZH by bus/train: 30 minutes
Duration of visit: from 9:30 am to 11:00 am (max. 30 participants)
Tour programme:
09:30 am: Meeting point at Zurich Airport (individual arrival)
09:30 am to 10:00 am: Presentations (airport energy strategy, history of geothermal energy use, new projects)
10:00 am to 11:00 am: Guided tour (visitors’ terrace, heating plant under construction, drilling – if drilling is currently taking place)
11:00 am: End of the Visit, participants can fly home
The Hönggerberg campus of ETH Zurich is an urban district with more than 12,000 students and employees, spread across over 30 buildings and consuming nearly 77 gigawatt-hours of energy per year — about 22 gigawatt-hours of which are used for heating alone. In 2006, the ETHZ Board decided to reduce the campus’s CO₂ emissions by 50% by 2020. The anergy network contributes significantly to this goal.
Travel time from ZH by bus: 30 minutes
Duration of visit: from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm (max. 40 participants)
Tour programme:
09:00 am: Departure Congress Centre ZH
09:30 am to 10:30 am: Welcome and Presentations
10:30 am to 11:30 am: Visit of the technical installations
11:30 am: Back to Zurich Center
12:00 am: Arrival Congress Centre ZH
