Within ten weeks, the Federal Council has published two reports that matter for Power-to-X. On 24 June it approved the report «Potenzial von Power-to-X als Beitrag zur Versorgungssicherheit»; on 2 September it approved the report on synthetic energy carriers and seasonal storage in fulfilment of postulate 23.3023. The topics they touch – security of supply, imports, regulation – are also the topics of the Power-to-X Congress Switzerland 2026 on 22 September in Bern.
The congress carries the title «Reality Check with Net Zero». In SPIN’s view, federal reports on the technologies that the people in the Kursaal are building, financing and permitting are a good occasion for exactly such a reality check.
What the 2 September report says
The report of 2 September 2026 concludes that PtX derivatives can in principle contribute to seasonal energy storage and to diversifying energy carriers, but that, because of high conversion losses, the corresponding costs, the lack of systematic exploration of suitable geological storage in Switzerland and long lead times, their contribution to winter electricity production through seasonal storage is limited in the short to medium term (section 5). For securing winter supply, other measures are in the foreground: expanding renewable electricity production, lifting the ban on new nuclear power plants, using existing storage – above all hydropower – and more cost-efficient storage technologies, in particular thermal storage, and exchange with other countries (section 5). The report also expects that domestic renewable electricity production will not suffice to produce PtX derivatives economically at a relevant scale, so that a considerable part of the demand would have to be covered by imports (summary; section 3.1). It proposes no additional regulation and points instead to the work in the Round Table on energy storage and to the storage strategy being drawn up in fulfilment of motion 25.3943 (summary; section 5). The details are in SPIN’s article on that report.
SPIN’s reading
SPIN has set out its reading of both documents in detail – on the June report and on the September report. In SPIN’s view, the barriers that actually stop final investment decisions in Switzerland sit at the ordinance level – certification and investment security, the mineral oil tax treatment of synthetic fuels, the recognition of guarantees of origin – and deserve more attention in the federal process. One related fact is on the public record: on 15 April 2026 the Federal Council asked Parliament to write off motion 20.4063 («Schluss mit der Blackbox. Klimaschutz, Energiesicherheit und Infrastrukturnutzung dank Erforschung des Untergrunds»), which called for a national programme to explore the Swiss subsurface. According to the Federal Council, even the minimal variant of a national prospecting campaign would cost more than CHF 100 million. The September report itself notes that the systematic exploration of suitable geological storage in Switzerland is so far missing (sections 2.4 and 3.1).
What the congress programme covers
A written position paper can argue with a report. It cannot put the report next to a running plant. The congress programme brings practitioners and researchers together on these questions. The morning keynotes: Dr Gianfranco Guidati of ETH Zurich on Switzerland’s path to net zero, Dr Achim Schaadt of Fraunhofer ISE on Power-to-X in Europe and its role in security of supply through imports, Jochen Siebert on Power-to-X and energy security in China, and Lukas Hoffmann of Porsche Consulting on eFuel market potential and opportunities for Switzerland.
The afternoon World Café then asks the room. Eight themed stations run in parallel in German, French and English, among them «Regulation – what needs to change?», «Investment and financing – from pilot projects to bankability», «Power-to-Gas and Power-to-Liquids – from pilot to market» and «Global cooperation – import logic, partnerships and Switzerland’s role». The hosts collate the findings and eight presenters bring them to the plenary. According to the congress page, the results feed into SPIN’s political advisory board, the Round Table on Energy Storage and the work on Energy Perspectives 2060.
The day closes with a panel on the role of Power-to-X in the net-zero energy transition, with National Councillor Martin Bäumle – Co-President of SPIN – Prof. Markus Friedl of OST and Schnellmann of Metafuels. Before that, easyJet Switzerland CEO Jean-Marc Thévenaz presents a case study on decarbonising aviation, and Metafuels CEO Saurabh Kapoor speaks on the route from green methanol to SAF.
What SPIN brings to the table
In July 2026 SPIN published a paper listing 42 concrete regulatory blockages for Power-to-X in Switzerland, each with a proposed solution – from pre-certification and grandfathering to the mineral oil tax exemption for RFNBO synfuels and the recognition of EU guarantees of origin. It is available in English and in German.
The aim is to make sure that when the Round Table on Energy Storage and the Energy Perspectives 2060 are drawn up, the practical experience of the Swiss Power-to-X sector is in the room – with current numbers rather than the 2020 data on which the Energy Perspectives 2050+ are based (the September report itself notes that they no longer reflect recent developments in all areas, section 3).
Join the reality check
The Power-to-X Congress Switzerland 2026 brings together the former Power-to-Gas Congress and the SPIN Day. It is co-organised by energie-cluster.ch and the Swiss Power-to-X Collaborative Innovation Network (SPIN), with Réseau H2 Suisse Romande as strategic partner, and runs in German with simultaneous interpretation into French and English. Tuesday, 22 September 2026, 10–18h, Kursaal Bern, followed by an evening reception. CHF 416 for members of energie-cluster.ch, SPIN, Réseau H2 and the congress partners, CHF 520 for non-members. Registration closes on 21 September. Programme and registration →
Sources: Federal Council, report «Synthetische Energieträger und saisonale Energiespeicher zur Stärkung der Versorgungssicherheit und insbesondere der Stromversorgungssicherheit im Winter», Bern, 2 September 2026, in fulfilment of postulate 23.3023 (summary and sections 2–5, as cited above); Federal Council publication notice «Potenzial von Power-to-X als Beitrag zur Versorgungssicherheit» (24 June 2026); Federal Council publication notice «Synthetische Energieträger und saisonale Energiespeicher» (2 September 2026, in fulfilment of postulate 23.3023); Federal Council press release «Bundesrat beantragt Motion zur Untergrundserkundung zur Abschreibung» (15 April 2026); congress page and programme, energie-cluster.ch.
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Power-to-X Congress Switzerland 2026 – 22 September 2026, 10–18h, Kursaal Bern: «Reality Check with Net Zero». Co-organised by energie-cluster.ch and SPIN, with partner Réseau H2 Suisse Romande. Programme and registration.