Konvekta AG: World leader in efficient energy recovery

Konvekta AG, based at Letzistrasse 23 in St.Gallen, is a global leader in high-performance energy recovery in ventilation and air conditioning systems. Since 1949, the family-owned company has been developing and producing technologies that recover up to 95% of the energy from exhaust air and thus make a decisive contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. In this interview, Joachim Lennarz, CEO of the Konvekta Group, explains how the company contributes to the climate neutrality of cities, including St.Gallen, why the location is so important for Konvekta and what innovative projects the company is planning in the coming years.

Can you briefly introduce us to Konvekta AG and explain what sustainable energy solutions you offer?

Konvekta is the global technology leader in the field of high-performance energy recovery for ventilation and air conditioning systems. Konvekta's closed-loop systems are capable of extracting energy - in the form of cold or heat - from the exhaust air of buildings extremely efficiently and returning it to the supply air. Energy savings of up to 95% can be achieved for heating the outside air alone. Of course, the same applies to savings in CO2 emissions. The high efficiency is achieved through the use of our application-specific heat exchangers and our extensive optimization and control software. This is based on Konvekta's sophisticated mathematical system modeling using the Digital Twin method.

The city of St.Gallen has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. How can Konvekta AG contribute to achieving this important goal?

Buildings are responsible for around 40% of final energy consumption and corresponding CO2 emissions worldwide. Heating and cooling account for a large proportion of this energy demand. This makes the building sector, especially in cities, an extremely important area for achieving climate neutrality. Konvekta systems have been proven to be able to reduce the energy required to heat the outside air by up to 95% - this is in addition to savings on cooling energy, water heating and adiabatic cooling. In addition to many cities around the world, Konvekta can also support St Gallen in achieving this important goal.

Why did you decide to locate your company in St.Gallen and what advantages does the region offer for your business development?

Konvekta is a long-established family business that was founded in St Gallen in 1949. Konvekta's success is based on committed and highly trained employees who are crucial to the design and production of our highly developed technology. The location is ideal for finding good specialists, and the city of St Gallen and eastern Switzerland offer our employees plenty of culture and nature to balance out their leisure time.

What role does cooperation with local partners and the City of St.Gallen play in the development and implementation of your sustainable projects?

Konvekta supplies systems that are individually designed for each project. In order to meet this challenge time and again, we rely on a strong network of partners worldwide. Whenever possible, Konvekta relies on local partners in order to utilize their expertise and keep working distances short. We are very grateful to the city of St Gallen for supporting the expansion of our company headquarters. This has not only allowed us to produce ecologically valuable systems on a larger scale, but has also created more important jobs in the region.

What innovative projects or technologies is Konvekta AG planning in the coming years to further advance climate protection?

The Zero Emission Energy Recovery System (ZEERS) from Konvekta is an energy recovery system with an integrated heat pump/chiller. This not only increases system efficiency, but also means that fossil fuels can be completely dispensed with for heating and cooling the supply air. This is a globally unique system that offers exceptional ecological and economic benefits. The first installations are already in operation worldwide and numerous systems are already being planned for the coming years.