Sharing knowledge and new ideas

It is the meeting of colleagues from the entire Axpo Group to discuss the latest developments in their fields. Every year, the Engineering Power Conference at the Axpo Group headquarters in Baden brings together several hundreds of people from the Axpo universe, focusing on the diverse art of engineering. 

Whether analysing large amounts of data, building floating PV systems or developing large battery storage systems, engineering knowledge is the foundation. Knowledge that will once again be featured this year at the beginning of September at the Engineering Power Conference in the Kurtheater Baden. Engineers, project managers, economic researchers and employees from all departments of the Axpo Group will come together and listen to their colleagues from a wide range of departments in around 20 short speeches.        

Floating PV systems and lots of networking

What do you need to consider when building PV systems on water? Caroline Le Nail, for example, explored this question last year. In the first speech at the Engineering Power Conference 2023, Caroline talked about the challenges that Axpo subsidiary Urbasolar had to overcome when building floating PV systems. 

“Such installations are expensive, you don't have many attempts,” says le Nail. Exciting insights, spectacular images and a peek behind the scenes of their work. This is exactly what the Engineering Power Conference stands for. Caroline's speech and other highlights of the Engineering Power Conference were published online for the first time last year. 

Hydropower 4.0 and charger evolution at Axpo subsidiary CKW

The Axpo Group has a lot to offer in terms of innovation, beyond the 20 or so speeches. Last year, for example, the “Smart Charging App” from Axpo subsidiary CKW was also the subject of lively discussions. In 2023, CKW presented the first intelligent electric car charging app for Switzerland. It allows to charge electric cars more cheaply and stabilise the power grid at the same time. Most electric cars are plugged into the charging station at home in the evening after driving home - more or less all at the same time.

The “CKW Smart Charging App” is designed to prevent the resulting high load on the power grid after work. It shifts the charging of the battery to a period with a lower load on the grid. The charging app thus has a stabilising effect on the grid and can prevent the need to import coal or gas power (Link). It can also be used to earn money. The digitalisation of hydropower was discussed with similar passion.

Emil Bieri, Head of Digital Transformation at Axpo Hydro, is particularly involved in this area. At the end of last year, Bieri presented the “first digital power plant” at Kraftwerke Sarganserland. “Its evaluations make work much easier and basically turn everything that has gone before upside down,” says Emil Bieri with pride. (Link).

Exclusive insights

Once again this year, the interested community can tune in for exclusive insights into the world of the Engineering Power Conference during the first week of September. Join us on social media, via Instagram or on Axpo Group's LinkedIn account. And of course, selected speeches will also be published online on YouTube.