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Swiss-Farmer-Power wins prize for sustainable mobility

Energie und Technologie (Symbolbild)
Image: Christoph Ritz

Swiss Energy's top prize for sustainable mobility, called Pegasus Prize, was awarded for the second time at the seventh Sun21 international forum on energy on 23 June 2004. The first prize of over 80'000 Swiss francs went to the «Swiss Farmer Power» project, which proclaims that «farmers' biogas is a fuel of the future«. The project was carried out by the ITZ Association (Innovations-Transfer Zentralschweiz).
The aim of the project is to produce biogas from solid and liquid manures in order to provide environmentally friendly fuel for vehicles running on natural gas. The amount of manure produced by a single cow in a year is enough for a car to travel 3,000 km and reduce CO2 emissions by 400 kg. The project includes the construction of a pilot biogas production plant, in order to develop high-quality fuel which will be introduced into the natural gas network. Useful by-products such as fertilisers (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) are also obtained during the process.
In Switzerland, transport accounts for 40% of fossil fuel consumption (petrol, diesel), and the phenomenon continues to grow. Transport is the sector that produces the most CO2 emissions, and is also the fastest-growing sector. More than ever, innovative ideas for reversing this progression are needed. With its Pegasus Prize, Swiss Energie wants to encourage a spirit of innovation and promote means of transport which make sensible use of energy.

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