Vision
Mission
We rely on advanced technologies and renewable raw materials to develop clean, efficient and reliable energy solutions that protect the environment while meeting the highest performance standards. Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in the continuous improvement of our products and processes to minimise our customers' environmental footprint.
The energy-trilemma
There is a delicate balance between the three main areas of our energy future: energy security, favourable energy prices and environmental sustainability. This is known as the energy - trilemma.
Deciding how we organise our energy future is not trivial. Choosing the cheapest, cleanest and most readily available energy source is not possible in practice. One reason for this is that there is rarely a primary energy source that fulfils all of these conditions.
The energy-trilemma-diagram
Energy security
Energy security refers to the amount of energy we need – today – but also in the future.
In other words, the available deposits of primary energy or the amount of water in reservoirs.
Security can depend on various factors, both short-term and long-term. Short-term security refers to:
- how dependent we are on an energy source for our energy requirements and whether these requirements are covered by our own energy sources or whether we have to purchase them externally.
And in the long term:
- whether it is renewable or non-renewable (whether it will run out one day)
Energy justice
In Switzerland, we may take energy for granted as it is always available when we need it. But there are over a billion people in the world who have no access to electricity. There are two main reasons for this: Cost and location.
People cannot afford expensive energy bills and/or their government cannot afford to invest in improving the energy supply.
Natural resources or technology are the key to producing and utilising energy.
Ecological sustainability
Fossil energy sources that we use to power, transport and heat our lives have a negative impact on the earth due to the greenhouse gases they release; the result of which is climate change. Sustainability focuses on avoiding greenhouse gases or reducing them through new technologies – helps with this:
- Conscious use of energy
- Utilise non-fossil renewable energy sources
- continuously work on reducing greenhouse gases by means of technology and a broad range of measures
Conclusion
The reason why there must be the right balance between the three poles is that changing one or two areas usually has a negative impact on the others.
If we focus on using the most accessible energy, this can be environmentally detrimental. The cheapest energy sources we currently have also emit the largest amounts of greenhouse gases. They are also finite – Fossil fuels may run out or become expensive to extract in the next 100 years.
How and what energy we use will have a direct influence on how long we can continue to use these favourable energy sources. Technological developments, population - and economic growth will offer us new solutions and repeatedly lead us in a different direction from what we thought was a "safe" path.
LEAF
On the way to zero CO₂ emissions, we want to provide our customers with alternative energy sources, including environmentally friendly liquid energy and alternative fuels and combustibles, as well as energy system- solutions outside of grid-connected electricity.
The energy-dependence of modern society is immense and stands in direct contrast to the goal of reducing man-made CO₂ emissions to zero.
LEAF aims to offer innovative liquid fuels and energy systems with an increasingly reduced environmental impact for all energy applications at low cost, while circumventing the limitations of electrification.