From professional ice hockey player to solar entrepreneur: HSG graduate Jan Petrig wants to supply Switzerland with sustainable energy

With his beard and long hair, HSG graduate Jan Petrig still looks a bit like a hockey player during the playoffs. For six years, the now 27-year-old lived the dream of professional sport – including at EHC Biel-Bienne and HC Ajoie in the two highest Swiss leagues.

‘Life as a professional has made me resilient and efficient,’ he says. ‘Sometimes I came home late at night after a game, and the next day I had training again. In between, I studied for my bachelor's degree exams at the University of Bern.’

Building a network as an entrepreneur at HSG

In 2023, Petrig decided to end his career. ‘I really enjoyed ice hockey. But several injuries forced me to think about the future.’ In the meantime, he had also developed a passion for entrepreneurship: while still studying for his bachelor's degree, he founded Aurinko Energy in his home canton of Valais.

The young company equipped industrial plants, farms and a number of private homes with large photovoltaic systems – with outputs of up to 400 kilowatt peak. Depending on consumption, such a system can supply electricity for around 80 to 100 single-family homes.

Petrig came to HSG for his Master's degree. ‘I wanted to build a network as an entrepreneur and learn from renowned lecturers, and HSG seemed like a good place to do that.’ During his Master's degree in General Management, he not only deepened his business management expertise, but also tested many things directly in the practice of his start-up.

Second start-up founded

The next step followed in 2024: the founding of Inova Energy. Like Aurinko Energy in Valais, the start-up offers a full service throughout Switzerland for the installation of photovoltaic systems on large buildings such as industrial halls or logistics centres.

The approach goes beyond mere installation. Inova takes care of planning, financing and construction and integrates battery storage with capacities ranging from 0.2 to 5+ megawatts. It also intelligently networks several systems across different locations with the help of an energy management system. Instead of building a separate battery for each roof, a central storage facility can be installed, into which various PV systems feed.

Inova charges roof owners a reduced fee for locally sourced green solar power. Specially developed software records production and consumption in real time, distributes the energy – for example to single-family homes or industrial companies – and enables billing within so-called local energy communities (LEG). With the new Electricity Ordinance, this model is now also possible in Switzerland: locally produced electricity is consumed locally and marketed further.

Focus on sustainability

‘Without us, many of these roofs would not have PV systems,’ says Petrig. The financial and administrative hurdles are often high for companies. Inova lowers these barriers and handles financing, construction and planning. ‘Our concept can significantly reduce electricity costs for roof owners and the local community,’ says Petrig.

In addition to Jan, the Inova team includes several other people with an HSG background, including co-founder and HSG graduate Simon Nydegger and Till Buser.

Three partner organisations are building the PV systems nationwide. The company has already completed around 20 systems in Switzerland, with another 20 projects currently in progress. ‘We completed a round of financing in 2025. Thanks to this, we can start scaling up and finance our planned growth – i.e. the construction of systems – for the next three years,’ says Petrig.

For him, it is important to use his start-up to implement projects that are economically viable and ecologically sustainable, thereby making a concrete contribution to society, the economy and the environment.