On December 20, 2023, the overall contractor ERNE AG handed over the new buildings in Villigen to the investor CPV/CAP Pensionskasse Coop. The Innovation Park at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI was completed on budget and on schedule. As the operating company, innnovAARE AG is the main tenant and brings together scientific excellence from the PSI with innovators from established large companies, start-ups, and SMEs in the park.
At a ceremony attended by the partners involved in the project, Daniel Erne, Chairman of the Board of Directors, handed over a coffee machine as a symbolic gift for networking activities and good cooperation to Danilo Zampieri from the CPV/CAP Pensionskasse Coop and to Dr. Christian Brönnimann, Chairman of the Board of innovAARE AG. In his speech, Daniel Erne emphasized the complexity of the project with all its technical challenges. "ISO 5-certified cleanrooms and laboratories with constant temperatures and no vibrations present practically every challenge imaginable. We are proud to have completed the project on time and budget," says Daniel Erne. Danilo Zampieri expressed his thanks for the excellent collaboration and highlighted the innovation park as an important project in terms of sustainability. "The hybrid façade consisting of wood and integrated photovoltaic panels illustrates the range of our investments in buildings with renewable energies," he emphasized in his acceptance speech and handed over to Dr. Christian Brönnimann from innovAARE AG as the operating company and future main tenant of the park.
Park Innovaare - setting the pace for more innovation and competitiveness
"The Park Innovaare flagship project is a joint project and confirms the commitment of all partners involved in the canton of Aargau to invest in the innovative strength and competitiveness of our companies," says Dr. Christian Brönnimann. "We are making very good progress with our space utilization rate of around 85%. Thanks to our modern high-tech infrastructure, i.e. the laboratories, clean rooms and workshops, we are laying the foundations for a vibrant ecosystem in which industrial companies can network with research partners," explained Dr. Christian Brönnimann. Since the ground-breaking ceremony in 2019, the construction of the buildings has proceeded according to schedule. The topping-out ceremony took place in 2021 and the building was handed over after around four years of construction. The first new tenants and previously established companies that were previously housed in temporary solutions on the PSI site will move into the new premises in January 2024. The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, as an important strategic partner, occupies around 65% of the space and is therefore the largest user of the buildings. Companies from the technological focus areas occupy the rest of the space.
About the Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare
The Park Innovaare is one of a total of six innovation parks under the private sponsorship of Switzerland Innovation, which was founded in 2016. As the operating company, innovAARE AG manages the park's business. The aim of innovAARE AG is to promote the establishment of high-tech companies and the development of an innovation ecosystem in the key areas of photonics and quantum technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and semiconductor technology as well as energy and the environment. This network will accelerate the transformation of innovations into market-ready products and services. The Park Innovaare opposite the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI connects innovators from established large companies, start-ups and SMEs with experts from science and supports the exchange between research institutions and industry.