Swiss Review 2/2018

16 Swiss Review / March 2018 / No.2 Economy ANDREAS SCHWANDER Almost everything that Esoro does in Fällanden is secret – and that has been the case for decades. That means practi- cally all of its activities go on behind closed doors. The com- pany is rarely visible, for instancewhen an articulated truck manufactured by Esoro delivers fresh produce to branches of the leading retailer, Coop, in the Aargau region. This heavy goods vehicle is the first of its kind in Switzerland. It is powered by hydrogen produced at a hydroelectric power plant inAargau. A fuel cell acting as an on-board power sta- tion generates a continuous flow of electricity, charging a battery. The energy for acceleration comes from a battery which is much smaller than the ones found in an electric car. The lorry produces no exhaust fumes and does not take long to charge. This is a key factor when considering alter- native drive systems for HGV fleets. The articulated truck was given the green light by the vehicle licensing office in Zurich last summer. Decades of tinkering “We work on challenging, complex cross-sector projects,” explains Esoro CEODiego Jaggi. He has been involvedwith utopian ideas on wheels for a long time. It all started back in the 1980swith the Tour-de-Sol, the legendary solar-pow- ered vehicle race through Switzerland. That spawned a company in 1990. Esoro is part of the big – though largely unknown – Swiss automotive industry, which generates annual sales of 16 billion Swiss francs a year and has awork- force of 34,000. “We have to hold our own in the industry,” Jaggi adds, “despite facing huge disadvantages in Switzer- land.” These include the strength of the Swiss franc and cus- toms duties – two factors that make everything more ex- pensive and complex. Simply getting the necessary papers for a new vehicle is something of an art form. Jaggi esti- mates that vehicle registration alone accounts for about 20% of the cost of construction and development for the fuel cell lorry – assuming the company has already done it once before. If not, it is 200%. To be able to use the coveted white numbers, Esoro is also ultimately dependent on the goodwill of the road traffic offices. After all, the costs of just a single vehicle are also very high for them. It would therefore be much eas- ier for the authorities to find some tiny detail that is not compliant and to refuse to issue a permit. Nevertheless, the vehicle licensing office in Zurich made the effort. Its experts read up on the subject and collaborated construc- tively. 19 tonnes permitted The Esoro truck is the first in Switzerland to receive certi- fication in accordance with the provisions for zero-emis- sion commercial vehicles. Trucks can weigh 18 tonnes in Switzerland and 19 tonnes in the EU. Switzerland nowalso permits alternative-drive vehicles with a total weight of 19 tonnes. However, significant modifications have to be made to meet the requirements of mass production. It is therefore important to Esoro that the individual parts look perfect.When one of the first hydrogen-powered cars was presented at the Geneva Motor Show a number of years ago, a seniormanager at VW is said to have toldDiego Jaggi: “The paintwork is good.” In the jargon of the German automotive world, that effectively means “perfect”. The paintwork also looks good on the Rinspeed prototypes that Esoro regularly builds for Zurich-based businessman Frank Rinderknecht.Whether swimming, floating or diving, they all come out of the secret factory in Fällanden. These Rin- speed vehicles may look peculiar, but many of the ideas re- emerge later in mass-produced cars. Esoro is constantly working on the vehicles of the distant future in what is known as “advance development”, an area in which the sky’s the limit in terms of ideas and concepts. ANDREAS SCHWANDER IS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST AND CONSULTANT IN BASEL The secret ideas factory Esoro is making the cars of the future – and a hydrogen-powered lorry. The zero-emissions truck of Swiss man- ufacturer Esoro re- cently started deliv- ering fresh produce to Coop branches. Photo: Keystone