Cleantech companies supply technologies to reduce resource consumption, emissions or wastes in industrial production or to treat emissions and wastes.

Switzerland has many successful cleantech companies. Despite a significant international market potential, many of the companies remain focused on the domestic market.

In this context, Swiss cleantech companies can provide efficient solutions to environmental problems and actively contribute in transferring the related know-how. Although emerging economies are enacting ambitious environmental legislation, they often lack integrated knowledge about technology implementation and business applications, especially in the fields of industrial waste and wastewater treatment, pump storage and renewable energy. The consequences are missed opportunities for new services and jobs as well as a continued degradation of the environment.

For instance, Colombia and Peru recently implemented new solid waste and wastewater legislations, yet both lack the know-how and infrastructure to translate these laws into practice. Opportunities arise for local and international companies to not only comply with these laws, but also tap into new revenue streams and significant cost savings. The remediation of industrial and hazardous wastes faces similar issues.

Emerging markets should therefore lie in the focus of Swiss cleantech companies. However, doing business there poses its own challenges. Legal and political issues still need to be dealt with, e.g. political instability and understanding national laws (investment and repatriation).

CIIS supports Swiss cleantech companies in their efforts to enter emerging markets by setting up knowledge transfer programs, conducting applied research for policy support, delivering proof of concepts and managing multi-stakeholder projects, e.g. fact-finding missions.

Our strategic partners are the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through the REPIC platform.