Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM)

What Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM) does

The Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM) is an academic research center operating within the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) at ETH Zurich. Founded in 2008 and headquartered at Universit\u00e4tstrasse 16 in Zurich, Switzerland, C2SM functions as a multi-institutional collaborative platform bringing together five Swiss federal research partners: ETH Zurich, eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology), Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), MeteoSwiss (Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology), and WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research). The center coordinates climate systems modeling research across these institutions, providing shared infrastructure and expertise for atmospheric science, hydrology, and environmental systems research. The center is led by Dr. Christina Schnadt Poberaj and operates with approximately 6 employees.

C2SM does not offer commercial products or services and does not operate on a commercial pricing model. Its core technology is climate systems modeling research and computational modeling infrastructure, applied across use cases including climate systems research, environmental modeling, atmospheric science, and hydrology. The center is funded through institutional partnerships, Swiss research grants, and government funding for academic research in climate science, with revenue mechanics tied entirely to public-sector research financing rather than market-based transactions. Its customers are academic researchers and scientists across the partner institutions, with the center serving as a horizontal collaboration layer rather than a vendor.

The go-to-market posture is non-commercial: C2SM distributes its outputs through direct academic collaboration, institutional partnerships, and research publications. Marketing activity is limited to a web presence at c2sm.ethz.ch and a LinkedIn company page used for research updates. The center holds no patents, trademarks, certifications, or proprietary commercial IP in the data reviewed, and its competitive position rests entirely on its institutional embedding within the Swiss federal research architecture rather than any defensible commercial technology stack.

Name

Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM)

Legal name

Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zurich)

Website

https://c2sm.ethz.ch

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM) is an academic research center within ETH Zurich that coordinates climate systems modeling research across five Swiss federal institutions (ETH Zurich, eawag, Empa, MeteoSwiss, and WSL), serving academic researchers in atmospheric, hydrological, and environmental science.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Climate Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

GHG Accounting & Net-Zero/Decarbonization Planning (Scopes 1–3) (EUAHAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Standards & Reporting Cooperation (BPADANAI)

Keywords

• Climate systems modeling
• Environmental research
• Atmospheric science research
• Computational climate modeling
• Climate data analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Zurich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

C2SM is an academic research center that coordinates and conducts climate systems modeling research, providing shared infrastructure, computational resources, and interdisciplinary collaboration across Swiss research institutions including ETH Zurich, eawag, Empa, MeteoSwiss, and WSL. The center does not sell commercial products; instead it serves as a collaborative research platform for climate, atmospheric, hydrological, and environmental systems science.

Product overview

C2SM is a research center under ETH Zurich's Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS), operating as a collaborative research hub involving multiple Swiss research institutions including ETH Zurich, eawag, Empa, MeteoSwiss, and WSL. The center does not offer commercial products or services; it serves as a coordination and research platform for climate systems modeling activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Climate Systems Modeling Research Coordination Non-commercial coordination platform for climate systems modeling research across Swiss research institutions, providing shared modeling infrastructure, computational resources, and interdisciplinary collaboration for academic researchers and partner institutions including ETH Zurich, eawag, Empa, MeteoSwiss, and WSL.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ETH ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerETH Zurich is the host institution of C2SM. The center operates as a special interest group under D-USYS (Department of Environmental Systems Science). ETH Zurich provides the institutional framework, infrastructure, and administrative support for C2SM's operations.
• eawagcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (eawag) is a key research partner in C2SM, contributing expertise in aquatic systems and water resource research to the collaborative climate modeling effort.
• EmpacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) partners with C2SM, bringing materials science and environmental engineering expertise to the climate systems modeling collaboration.
• MeteoSwisscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) is a core partner, providing meteorological data, climate observation systems, and atmospheric science expertise essential for climate modeling.
• WSLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) contributes to C2SM with expertise in ecology, landscape dynamics, and cryospheric research for climate systems modeling.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Regional players

• Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI): A national European meteorological and hydrological research institute producing climate models. Comparable to C2SM in public-sector climate modeling mandate, though broader in operational forecasting.
• Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI): A German research institute focused on polar and marine climate research. Comparable to C2SM as a publicly funded climate research center, particularly to the cryospheric components contributed via WSL.

Emerging players

• Climate Central: A US-based non-profit translating climate science into visualization and communication tools. Partially comparable to C2SM in climate science focus but differentiated by its applied/commercial orientation.

Direct peers

• Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL/NOAA): A leading US government climate modeling laboratory conducting Earth system model development. Comparable to C2SM in core activity of climate systems modeling within a public research framework.
• Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC - Earth Sciences): Hosts the Earth Sciences department running high-resolution climate modeling. Comparable to C2SM as a climate modeling research operation, though within a broader supercomputing center.
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR): A US federally funded research center dedicated to atmospheric and climate science. Directly comparable to C2SM in mission (climate systems modeling) and structure (consortium-based research center).
• Max Planck Institute for Meteorology: A leading European climate modeling research institute performing atmospheric and Earth system modeling. Highly comparable to C2SM as a publicly funded academic center focused on climate systems modeling.
• Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL): A French multi-institutional laboratory for climate and environmental science research. Closely comparable to C2SM as a consortium of French research institutions focused on climate systems modeling.
• UK Met Office Hadley Centre: A premier climate modeling center producing global and regional climate projections. Comparable to C2SM as a public-sector climate modeling research hub, though substantially larger.
• Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum (DKRZ): Germany's national climate computing center, providing supercomputing infrastructure for climate modeling. Comparable to C2SM as a public-sector infrastructure provider supporting climate modeling research.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-climate-systems-modeling-c2sm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM)