Energy that thinks for itself
Starting with this issue, we’ll be taking you behind the scenes of uptownBasel’s energy infrastructure — in no particular order, over the coming months. The focus will always be on our new battery energy storage system (BESS), or ‘battery storage’ for short: what it is, what it means for tenants — and which other topics are directly or indirectly related to it, which we will also be exploring in this series.
Battery storage in the interconnected grid: balancing power for Swissgrid
At first glance, a battery storage system seems straightforward: it stores electricity, holds it temporarily, and then feeds it back into the grid. In reality, however, batteries are much more sophisticated today, particularly when they are intelligently integrated into the electricity grid. At uptownBasel, we can connect the battery to the national grid to provide balancing power. This involves committing to make a certain capacity available, which Swissgrid can then access at any time — a process that is fully automatic and does not require human intervention.
The potential of quantum technology in the context of energy efficiency
The future of energy is being developed not only on the roof of our substation, but also at our centre of competence for quantum computing & AI, QuantumBasel, located on the campus. A recent study by QuantumBasel and IonQ researchers has now been reviewed and accepted for the prestigious IEEE Quantum Week 2026.
QAI Ventures continues to grow!
Having emerged from uptownBasel, our sister company has been active globally for some time, with offices in Basel, Calgary, Tokyo and Singapore. The venture capital and accelerator fund supports quantum and advanced computing start-ups with investments, mentoring, and access to quantum infrastructure. In early July, QAI Ventures launched the first cohort of its new Singapore accelerator. Four selected start-ups will now also benefit from the ecosystem here on campus.
Save the date: Quantum Global Summit on 17 September.
On this day, the campus will be transformed into a meeting place for the global quantum ecosystem. QAI Ventures invites you to the Quantum Global Summit in Arlesheim, featuring speakers from the worlds of research, industry and politics, as well as from its own start-up portfolio. Anyone interested in the future of quantum technology will find an afternoon of intensive discussion right here on our campus.
People at uptownBasel
Seven Questions – Seven Answers
Who are the people on campus? In our latest interview: Elisa Torres Durney, intern at QAI Ventures and founder of Girls in Quantum.
Hack Apertus: Shaping the future of Swiss AI
An initiative worth watching: Hack Apertus brings together more than 100 organisations to accelerate the adoption of Apertus, the Swiss AI model.
From October 2026 to May 2027, participants across Switzerland will develop open-source AI solutions – starting with an Online Hackathon from 1–16 October, followed by on-site hackathons in several Swiss cities, including Basel.
The initiative aims to build bridges between research, industry and the public sector while strengthening Switzerland’s position in responsible and sovereign AI.
Interested in taking part? Stage 1 is now open: https://hackapertus.devpost.com/
We hope you have a lovely late summer and we’ll be in touch again soon with the latest news from the campus.
Thank you very much for your interest
The uptownBasel team