{"id":6441,"date":"2026-03-16T09:56:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T08:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/?p=6441"},"modified":"2026-05-01T09:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T07:12:28","slug":"conference-sustainable-supply-of-critical-raw-materials-and-components-for-the-future-of-switzerland-as-a-technology-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/2026\/03\/16\/conference-sustainable-supply-of-critical-raw-materials-and-components-for-the-future-of-switzerland-as-a-technology-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"Conference on May 13: \u201cSustainable supply of critical raw materials and components for the future of Switzerland as a technology hub\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Date: <\/strong>May 13, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Location:<\/strong> Switzerland Innovation Park Biel\/Bienne, Aarbergerstrasse 46, 2503 Biel\/Bienne
Organised by: <\/strong>ESM Foundation, Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW, Switzerland Innovation Park Biel\/Bienne (SIPBB), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)
Supported by: <\/strong>Bern Economic Development Agency<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Securing a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and components is essential for Switzerland as a hub for technology. Geopolitical tensions, supply chain risks, and rising demand present major challenges for industry, policymakers, and research, but also create opportunities for innovation and the circular economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To discuss these opportunities and risks, the ESM Foundation has joined forces with the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW, Switzerland Innovation Park Biel\/Bienne (SIPBB), and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) to host a conference on May 13, 2026. The event will bring together perspectives from industry, associations, and research. The goal is to pool cross-sector knowledge, highlight risks, and develop concrete recommendations for business and policymakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the morning (by invitation), interactive expert workshops will focus on sector-specific issues. In the afternoon (open to the public), the workshop results will be reviewed and placed in a broader context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1:30 PM: Coffee, arrival of the public
2:00 PM: Welcome by the project team
2:15 PM: Welcome by National Councillor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter
2:25 PM: Welcome by Virve Resta, Specialist for Circular Economy and Innovation, Business Development Agency of the Canton of Bern
2:30 PM: Welcome by Oliver Nievergelt, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
2:35 PM: Introduction: ESM \/ SIPBB \/ SATW \/ Empa; initial findings from the workshops
2:50 PM: Diversification strategies at Ypsomed \u2013 National Councilor Simon Michel, CEO of Ypsomed
3:05 PM: Sovereign systems: Paths to digital resilience \u2013 National Councilor Gerhard Andrey
3:20 PM: Criticality assessment and EU raw materials strategies \u2013 Luis Tercero, Fraunhofer ISI, Germany
3:35 PM: Sustainable raw material supply for Switzerland: Strengthening accountability in global supply chains \u2013 Robert Bachmann (Public Eye)
3:50 PM: Industry Input: Jan Backmann (Roche), Sabine Krattiger (Immark), Michael Baumgartner (Maxon)
4:05 PM: Panel discussion: How can resilience and the circular economy for critical raw materials be strengthened in Switzerland? – With National Councillor Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, National Councillor Gerhard Andrey, Jan Backmann (Roche), Sabine Krattiger (Immark), Michael Baumgartner (Maxon)
5:00 PM: Closing remarks and reception
5:30 PM: Optional tour of the SIPBB<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results of the conference (status quo, recommendations for action, requests to policymakers) will subsequently be published as a guide for policymakers and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Sign Up<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Download Press Release<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Are you interested in participating in the expert workshops in the morning?<\/strong>
Please contact the organizing team: alessandra.hool@esmfoundation.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Date: May 13, 2026 Location: Switzerland Innovation Park Biel\/Bienne, Aarbergerstrasse 46, 2503 Biel\/BienneOrganised by: ESM Foundation, Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW, Switzerland Innovation Park Biel\/Bienne (SIPBB), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) Supported by: Bern Economic Development Agency Securing a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and components is… <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":395,"featured_media":6512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-upcoming-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6441"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6441"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7008,"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6441\/revisions\/7008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esmfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}