The European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre will be housed close to the Paul Scherrer Institute, pictured, in northern Switzerland.
Keystone / Christian Beutler
Generated with artificial intelligence.
The European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI), created in collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), is to be located in the immediate vicinity of the PSI in northern Switzerland.
This content was published on
The European Space Agency and the PSI signed a contract to this effect at the end of October, the institute said in a press release on Monday. The official inauguration of the ESDI is scheduled for spring 2025.
The contract also defines the first platform of the ESDI: the Phi-Lab, attached to the PSI and responsible for creating instruments to promote innovation.
With the ESDI, the PSI becomes the only site in Switzerland where the space agency has a permanent presence. “This will enable this international organisation to be visible in the country, to be close to people and to network,” Johann Richard, director of the ESDI, is quoted as saying in the press release.
The ESDI will also act as an intermediary in the other direction: “We want to help implement developments from the Swiss high-tech and deep-tech sector for ESA space research, for the benefit of its member states, but perhaps also for other areas of industry”, Richard added.
Phi-Lab’s mission is to establish research programmes that encourage and financially support innovative projects in Switzerland. Formally, the ESDI is part of the European Space Agency, while Phi-Lab is integrated into the PSI.
Long history of collaboration
As a founding member of the ESA, Switzerland has been involved in the European space community from the outset, and collaboration between the ESA and the PSI has a long history. In particular, the Paul Scherrer Institute is a world leader in the development of detectors for use in space.
For example, the ESA’s JUICE mission to the planet Jupiter and its moons was launched in April 2023. Also on board is the high-tech RADEM detector, developed at the PSI, which should provide information on the complex radiation conditions and highly dynamic magnetic environment of the Jupiter system.
In the fields of materials research, quantum physics and artificial intelligence, the PSI offers other anchor points for thematic fields of interest to the ESA.
Translated from French with DeepL/gw
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
Swiss Federal Railways launches campaign for safety on public transport
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Railways is launching a campaign for greater respect and safety on public transport, with posters to go up in stations and on trains starting next week.
Prices of owner-occupied homes rose in the third quarter of 2024 by 0.5%, with inflation affecting both apartments and single-family houses, says the Federal Statistical Office.
The honey harvest is projected to be lower than usual this year, as Swiss beekeepers report harvesting an average of just 16kg of honey per bee colony.
More young refugees in Switzerland following vocational training
This content was published on
More than half of young refugees and temporarily admitted persons between the ages of 16 and 25 are now in training. This is significantly more than five years ago.
One in five Swiss children suffers psychological abuse at home
This content was published on
In Switzerland, one in five children suffers psychological violence, and one in three has witnessed psychological violence between parents, says the association Kinderschutz Schweiz.
Swiss government minister breaks silence over Trump remarks controversy
This content was published on
Transport Minister Albert Rösti explained himself in a television interview on Sunday evening, after being called out for expressing support for Donald Trump.
