PARK INNOVAARE: contract signature forms the basis for groundbreaking ceremony

Swiss company CPV/CAP Coop Pension Fund is investing approx. 150 Million Swiss Francs in the expansion of PARK INNOVAARE, one of Switzerland Innovation's five sites nation-wide. Located in close proximity to the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, the new PARK INNOVAARE campus will be built across the street from PSI. Construction management company ERNE AG will carry out the impressive building project. All four signatories now look forward to celebrating their commencing collaboration with a groundbreaking ceremony on 7 November 2019.

Located in Villigen, Canton Aargau, in close proximity to the Paul Scherrer Institute, PARK INNOVAARE was founded in 2015 and counts 16 member companies to date. The next step to the expansion of the park will be the groundbreaking ceremony event on 7 November 2019, with key politicians, scientists and entrepreneurs in attendance.

The new buildings – complete with approximately 23,000 m2 of high-end offices, co-working spaces, workshop halls, laboratories, clean and vibration-free rooms, among other features – will be ready to welcome high-tech start-ups, SMEs, and big corporations at the end of 2023. The companies will be co-located with PSI, the main leaser.

Dr. Remo Lütolf, President of PARK INNOVAARE's Board of Directors, says: "Today marks the launch of a building process that will markedly strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship regionally in Canton Aargau and nationally across Switzerland, while also conveying far-reaching influence internationally. We warmly thank our investor, Coop Pension Fund, for supporting the further development of research and business on behalf of current and future generations."

Following the signing of contracts today, the CEO of PARK INNOVAARE, Dr. Benno Rechsteiner, stated: "The expansion of our campus will solidify our presence in the field of technology and innovation. Thanks to our collaboration with PSI, our member companies will gain enhanced access to the tools and infrastructure needed to develop ground-breaking high-tech products. We look forward to providing numerous scientists with support in the areas of networking, business development and marketing, thereby enabling them to successfully position themselves on the market."

Ms. Maria Gumann, CEO of Swiss investor company CPV/CAP Coop Pension Fund, confirmed: "The expansion of PARK INNOVAARE, combined with its close proximity to the Paul Scherrer Institute, is reinforcing the growing presence of a regional innovation hub. We believe that our investment has long-term value for research and innovation, and that it will help strengthen the economy and society in Switzerland for decades to come."

Director a. i. of the Paul Scherrer Institute, Dr. Thierry Strässle, stated: “The aim of PSI is to further expand its activities in the field of science and technology transfer. We therefore hope that even more companies with an intensive need for research will locate here and benefit from the immediate proximity to our top research facilities and experts. PSI already has more than 1000 active cooperations with industry, worldwide and in Switzerland. I see the PARK INNOVAARE as an instrument with which PSI can increasingly fulfil its social responsibility to make results from research and development available to industry.”

Construction management company ERNE AG, Mr. Erich Erne, President of the ERNE Holding AG Board of Administration, commented in closing: "It is a privilege for our company to building such a high-tech building complex. The highest expectations of all parties involved will be met, so as to deliver perfectly operational facilities to the researchers setting up office at PARK INNOVAARE."

Next on the agenda is the groundbreaking ceremony to be held on 7 November 2019.

For further information about the new campus, please click here.

For photos of the event, please click here.