How can an industrial campus contribute to the energy transition beyond its own boundaries?
uptownBasel and Primeo Energie are taking another important step towards making this a reality. With two new agreements, the long-standing partners are strengthening the energy infrastructure at uptownBasel while creating the basis for making surplus heat from the campus available to the surrounding region.
At the end of December 2024, representatives of uptownBasel and Primeo Energie signed two agreements at the Primeo Energie Kosmos in Münchenstein. They mark another milestone in a partnership focused on developing a reliable, efficient and forward-looking energy system for the entire uptownBasel campus.
Turning surplus heat into energy for the region
One of the agreements concerns Building 4 at uptownBasel, which will serve as a transfer station for surplus heat generated on the campus. uptownBasel is making the building available to Primeo Energie on a long-term basis.
The aim is to make energy that would otherwise remain unused available beyond the boundaries of the campus. Surplus heat from uptownBasel will be fed into the regional heating network and transported to the surrounding municipalities of Münchenstein, Arlesheim and Reinach.
In the future, this energy is expected to contribute to supplying heat to several thousand households in the region.
The concept forms part of the new Birstal heating network. Heat pumps and biomass boilers complement the use of surplus heat, with regional waste wood providing an additional renewable energy source. The result is an energy system designed to combine local resources and existing energy flows in an intelligent way.
Reliable energy infrastructure for the entire campus
The second agreement covers the operation and maintenance of the uptownBasel campus grid. Primeo Energie assumes responsibility for key parts of the energy infrastructure, including the high- and medium-voltage systems.
These systems provide the foundation for a reliable energy supply across the approximately 75,000-square-metre campus and its nine buildings.
For an innovation campus where research, development and industrial activities come together, energy infrastructure is a critical factor. Reliability must therefore go hand in hand with flexibility and the ability to integrate new energy solutions as the campus continues to develop.
Rethinking energy at an industrial campus
The collaboration with Primeo Energie is part of a broader energy concept at uptownBasel. Rather than looking at electricity, heating and cooling as separate systems, the campus takes an integrated approach to how energy is generated, distributed, consumed and reused.
This includes collective self-consumption, the combination of industrial surplus heat with renewable energy sources and a high-performance bidirectional local grid.
The ambition is clear: energy generated or available on the campus should be used as efficiently as possible – first within the ecosystem and, where possible, beyond it.
In this way, uptownBasel is demonstrating how the industrial campus of the future can become an active part of a regional energy system.
From innovation campus to regional impact
At uptownBasel, innovation is not limited to the technologies developed by the companies on site. The campus itself provides an opportunity to rethink infrastructure and test new approaches at scale.
The partnership with Primeo Energie is an example of this philosophy in practice. It connects the energy requirements of a modern industrial and technology campus with the wider needs of the surrounding communities.
What starts as surplus heat generated in Arlesheim can ultimately become renewable heating for homes across the Birstal region.
With the new agreements, uptownBasel and Primeo Energie are laying another important foundation for this vision – combining reliable infrastructure, intelligent energy use and regional collaboration to help shape a more sustainable energy future.
Weitere links: https://www.primeo-energie.ch/ueber-uns/news/Vertraege-uptownBasel.html
