A large amount of the Swiss energy research occurs in the institutions that are under the jurisdiction of the ETH Board. The area of the ETH Board also includes, either directly or indirectly, all the projects concerning photovoltaics that are carried out by these institutions.

The ETH Board is in charge of the ETH area. In the framework of its strategic planning, it defines the goals for six institutions (ETHZ, EPFL, PSI, EMPA, EAWAG, WSL), authorizes the development plans of the ETH area and watches over their realization. It enacts guidelines for studies and decides on the initiation or elimination of lesson and research units. It chooses members for the leadership of the institutions (with the exception of the presidents of both ETH institutions and of the directors of the four research institutions), as well as professors and leading employees in the ETH area. It also fulfils other responsibilities that are conferred by ETH law or by its implementation regulations.