Swiss startup Sun-Ways has launched an innovative solar panel system that can be installed directly onto railway tracks without disrupting train operations. 

According to a report by swissinfo.ch on Sunday, May 18, 2025, the removable solar panels are currently undergoing a trial phase along a 100-meter stretch of track in Buttes, Switzerland.

Sun-Ways founder Joseph Scuderi began developing the concept in 2020. The project is supported by 12 partner companies and Switzerland’s innovation agency Innosuisse, with an estimated budget of around Rp10 billion rupiah (CH₣580,000 or US$640,000).

This breakthrough is being hailed as the world’s first technology that enables solar panel installation on active railway lines without halting service. The panels are mounted onto the track sleepers and can be installed or removed within hours using a specially designed machine.

The system also allows for continued track maintenance, and the panels stay clean thanks to brushes fitted underneath the trains.

Sun-Ways estimates that Switzerland’s 5,320-kilometer rail network could generate 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually − equivalent to 2 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption. That would be enough to power roughly 300,000 households.

However, Swiss transportation authorities have approved only a three-year trial period to evaluate potential long-term impacts on railway infrastructure. The track in Buttes was selected because trains there operate at relatively low speeds, with a maximum of 70 km/h.

The technology has sparked interest from several countries, including Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and the United States. South Korea plans to begin its own pilot project later this year, while Indonesian solar energy engineering firm Mutitron Automa is preparing to implement the system in Bogor, West Java.