Japanese technology group Hitachi Energy has chosen the canton of Zürich village of Otelfingen as the site for its new consolidated Swiss campus, ending months of intense competition with the Aargau municipality of Wettingen and dealing a significant economic blow to the neighbouring canton.
The decision was announced on 11 June 2026. Otelfingen’s municipal council described itself as “extremely pleased” with the outcome, local media reported.
Wettingen and the Canton of Aargau, which had actively lobbied for the project, confirmed their disappointment.
Hitachi Energy will take over the former Jelmoli distribution centre in Otelfingen.
Hitachi Energy will take over the former Jelmoli distribution centre and adjoining parcels in Otelfingen’s established industrial zone, an 11-hectare site owned by Swiss real estate company Swiss Prime Site. The campus will consolidate five existing Hitachi Energy locations that are currently spread across two cantons: Baden, Dättwil, Turgi-Untersiggenthal and Seon in Aargau, and Altstetten in Zürich.
The campus is planned to open with approximately 1,600 employees on-site, rising to 3,000 as the development matures. The company plans to have all five existing locations consolidated onto the campus by 2030.
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Aargau Loses Out: 1,000 Existing Hitachi Energy Jobs Will Migrate To Otelfingen
Hitachi Energy spokesperson Andreas Bachmann cited three factors that tipped the decision in Otelfingen’s favour: the site’s location within an existing industrial zone, meaning no agricultural or green-belt land needed to be rezoned, the predictable and plannable timeline for realisation, and good transport accessibility. He specifically noted that the campus will have its own railway station.
The Wettingen site, by contrast, was located in an agricultural zone designated as productive farmland and a settlement separation belt, raising planning complexity and prompting legal challenges from the neighbouring municipality of Würenlos.
The decision is a considerable setback for Aargau. The canton stands to lose approximately 1,000 existing Hitachi Energy jobs, which will migrate to Otelfingen. The canton of Aargau’s economic development agency expressed regret at the outcome.
Wettingen had been promised not only jobs but significant tax revenues — estimates had suggested the campus could generate up to CHF 10 million per year in cantonal and municipal tax income. Those revenues will now flow into Zürich canton instead.
The agricultural land in Wettingen that had been earmarked for the Hitachi project will, according to the cantonal authorities, remain zoned for farming.
Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader in electrification and power grid solutions, headquartered in Zürich at Brown-Boveri-Strasse 5, an address that reflects its origins as part of ABB’s power grids division, which was acquired by Hitachi in 2020. The company employs over 50,000 people in 60 countries and generates revenues of approximately USD 16 billion annually. Switzerland is its most significant operational base, with twelve locations across the country prior to this consolidation.
