The Federal Technical Institute of Zurich (ETHZ) says the facilities – situated in a disused access tunnel of the Matterhorn Gotthard railways in the Bedretto Valley – are a world first.
In cooperation with national and international partners, the ETHZ has installed seven additional seismic stations in and around the rock laboratory.
The Bedretto projectExternal link wants to show that the construction of a heat exchanger that is sustainable over several decades can be planned and controlled with the aid of hydraulic stimulation processes, according to the promoters.
The experiments, to begin in July, will be carried out on larger scales (hundreds of meters) compared a previous project near the Grimsel Pass in the Alps. The Grimsel ISCExternal link project successfully carried out pressure fluid injection experiments in crystalline rock, according to the promoters.
“The larger scale implicates longer boreholes, which allow more realistic experiments to be carried out, applying different stimulation concepts,” said the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research – Supply of Electricity.
“The Bedretto project addresses questions associated with (….) the sustainable utilization of heat exchanges in deep underground,” the Seismological Service of the ETHZExternal link said.
The construction of the Bedretto lab is expected to cost about CHF20 million ($20 million) and allow researchers to carry out test inside the 5.2km-long tunnel for ten years.
Survey: most Swiss ready to steer clear of US products due to tariffs
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A majority of Swiss and European consumers say they are prepared to opt out of buying American products like Coca-Cola and Nike in protest at US tariffs, a study shows.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) boss, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says the Geneva-based UN agency has revised down its budget to $4.2 billion (CHF3.5 billion) for 2026-2027.
Swiss police break up major Chinese trafficking ring
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Bern cantonal police have smashed a major human trafficking ring. Five people are accused of luring over 100 Chinese women to Switzerland to exploit them as sex workers.
‘Imminent’ landslide threat: authorities order full evacuation of Swiss mountain village
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The local authorities have ordered the complete evacuation of the village of Blatten and its 300 residents due to "imminent" dangers.
Swiss health survey: 52% of men are overweight, 34% of women
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The results of the Swiss Health Survey 2022 reveal clear differences between men and women: 55% of women and 44% of men live with at least one chronic illness.
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Switzerland plans to give an additional $80 million (CHF67 million) for the 2025-2028 period to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is facing financial difficulties.
Over half a million people attended Eurovision shows or events in Basel
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Over 500,000 people attended Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) shows or related events in Basel last week, the organisers said on Monday, celebrating its "great success".
Appenzell village is named ‘lightning capital’ of Switzerland
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Gonten in canton Appenzell Inner Rhodes recorded the highest number of lightning strikes per square kilometre in Switzerland last year.
Swiss centre records almost 300 victims of human trafficking
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Last year, 208 victims contacted the specialist unit FIZ Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of Trafficking. For 59 others, an examination is still underway.
Swiss mountain village threatened by serious landslide risk
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The situation in the mountain village of Blatten, canton Valais, remains serious due to the threat of a landslide, Swiss officials said on Sunday afternoon.
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The author of a book about underground Switzerland discusses 'beautiful drinking-water reservoirs' and Switzerland's collective agoraphobia.
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A year has passed since Switzerland inaugurated the world’s longest railway tunnel. More underground marvels are in the pipeline.
An Alpine village on the frontline of climate change
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Guttannen is a small and rustic village up in the Swiss Alps that exudes serenity. But this tranquil idyll is threatened by an unstable mountain.
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