Partnerships and Entrepreneurship

The ESC connects leading industry players, academic expertise, and emerging innovators to accelerate the transition toward sustainable energy systems.

Through strategic partnerships with  external page Axpo and external page Everllence, ESC enables research to be grounded in real‑world data, infrastructure, and market insights, ensuring that new energy concepts can be tested, validated, and scaled in practice. These partnerships simultaneously strengthen knowledge transfer and create new opportunities for innovation, spin‑offs, and technology deployment.

Building on this foundation, the ESC fosters entrepreneurship by providing dedicated programmes such as the Energy Launchpad. The initiative brings together DACH research institutions, startup hubs, and industry to nurture venture‑fundable energy startups capable of shaping global markets.

Complementing these efforts, the Energy Now!, an Impact Accelerator at ETH Zurich, challenges student teams to co-develop solutions with industry, bridging academia with private and public stakeholders. Together, these platforms create a dynamic ecosystem where research, entrepreneurship, and industry collaboration reinforce one another to drive a responsible and resilient energy future.

In addition, the ESC is supported by the Partnership Council, which is comprised of partners (industry, government, or non-profit) that make substantial contributions and donations to the ESC (e.g. via the external page ETH Foundation) to support ESC activities.