Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous

Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous © Yacht Club de Monaco

Specialised in sustainable marina development projects, Monegasque company Monaco Marina Management is organising the first Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina rendezvous 20th September, the aim being to bring together all those in the marina ecosystem and put the spotlight on sustainable solutions based on the latest technologies: innovation at the service of sustainability.

After launch of an E-Catalogue referencing them, 55 international startups are in the process of submitting their solutions in a Grand Oral to a Jury comprising 31 industrialists, investors and representatives of companiesin their field. A Consensus Meeting on 16th September will shortlist 15 of the most promising companies contributing to smart virtuous marinas. These companies will be highlighted and the winners of three awards announced on 20th September at the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina event, a day of round tables and meetings.

The unique format has attracted support from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Government's digital transformation programme, Extended Monaco, alongside Credit Suisse, which is establishing itself as the bank for yachting, Bombardier, SBM Offshore, Teledyne, Xerjoff, NGE Connect and the Yacht Club de Monaco which is hosting the rendezvous.

Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous - photo © Yacht Club de Monaco

Rand Oral: startups and industrialists kick-off discussions

It is back to work after the summer for the 55 startups selected from the 100-plus who applied through Blumorpho's international network and are referenced in the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina's E-Catalogue, some of which have qualified for funding from the European Commission's Smart Anything Everywhere initiative.

"Marinas are like condensed micro-cities offering a variety of services and multiple constraints, be they related to energy, environmental, or space and resources management. These characteristics make marinas an ecosystem that can pave the way to urban development that is more respectful of the environment, in line with and in harmony with the sea. Innovative solutions proposed by startups help reduce the carbon footprint of marinas, from construction to their day-to-day operation. Putting innovation and digital technology at the service of environmentally responsible marinas is the goal of this Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina initiative," explains Géraldine A. Gustin, CEO of Blumorpho which specialises in innovation.

Listed according to their core expertise (biodiversity, energy optimisation, water management, waste treatment, equipment, security, and health and mobility), the companies are taking turns to present their solutions to a Grand Jury. All have been allowed to choose three Jury members to present to, an opportunity to explain their innovations and why they are the best to meet the challenges that virtuous marinas represent. In total, some 160 online face-toface meetings have been arranged by the teams at Blumorpho.

"It's a great for us to be able to exchange with high-level decisionmakers. It's a unique opportunity as we are in direct contact with them," explains Elsa Nico, CEO of French company Falco, and first to face a Grand Oral session with its wireless sensors to monitor berth occupancy in real time. All companies in the running are set to revolutionise the marina landscape as evidenced by the robot designed to clean harbours (Geneseas); an online berth booking platform for marina networks in real time (Seasy); space saving mobile pontoons for marinas (Moore More); or the system to reduce the environmental impact on the seabed with floating installations (Seafloatech).

Initiatives in the equipment sector but that also relate to energy optimisation with hydrogen-based solutions (EODev); security with an autonomous encryption platform (Cyrias); health with multi-lingual assistance on medical matters (HospitHome); waste treatment with a device to capture waste before it enters the water (Green City Organisation); water management with a filtration system based on plant components (Biostart); mobility with technology that can do a 360o analysis of the navigation area to avoid collisions (LuxC); and biodiversity with composites that regenerate, thereby minimising their impact on the environment.

The oral presentations continue until 10th September led among others by Credit Suisse, Bombardier, SBM Offshore, Veolia, Bouygues Construction, Colas, Bosch, Suez, Holcim, PureTerra Ventures, BtoV, Circularity Capital, SNGLR, SMEG, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Yacht Club de Monaco and NGE Connect which was the first jury member to kick off the Grand Oral.

"The quality of the presentation and solutions proposed are living up to expectations," comments Séverine Baudic, jury member and Managing Director, New Energies & Services for SBM Offshore, specialised in the design, manufacturing and marketing of maritime systems and equipment.

List of Jury members here

In competition for the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Awards
On 16th September, at the end of a Consensus Meeting attended by all members, the Jury will announce the 15 startups on the shortlist from which three will be selected to receive the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Awards on Monday 20th September. Winners will have the privilege of presenting their projects during Monaco Ocean Week in March 2022, organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

Positive impact: sustainable development business model
With the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina rendezvous, the concept of sustainable development when building the new generation of marinas takes on its full meaning.

"Digitisation and innovation are the keys to planning and designing smart marinas. Beyond their mission as places to live, these areas are becoming established as an integral part of Smart Cities and represent a vital link that connects all the facilities and services offered to boat owners. It's a comprehensive approach that must be anticipated from the design phase, and which all those involved in the sector need to be aware of and take into account," explains José Marco Casellini, CEO of Monaco Marina Management, organiser of the event.

Owners, startups and big companies, investors and marina promotors, the whole marina ecosystem will gather for the first Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina rendezvous on Monday 20th September for a day of round tables and discussions on how best to address the challenges posed by virtuous marinas.

Programme

Welcome breakfast at Yacht Club de Monaco (8.30am)

Welcome speeches (9.00-9.10AM)
Bernard d’Alessandri, YCM General Secretary and Cluster Yachting Monaco President.
José Marco Casellini, CEO of Monaco Marina Management and organiser of the event.

Session 1: Inspiration (9.10-10.15am)

The power of collaboration in building infrastructure of the future (9.10-9.20am)
Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head Sustainability Strategy, Advisory and Finance, Credit Suisse

The Red Sea Project Urban Planning and Strategy (9.20-9.30am)
Speaker: Nicholas King, Group Chief Development Officer at The Red Sea Development Company

Round table with SUPERYACHT OWNERS about their expectations (9.30-10.00am, 30 mins)

A sustainable ecosystem approach for a positive impact
The Monaco Marina Management vision and actions undertaken (10.00-10.10am)
Coffee break and networking (10.10-10.40am, 30 mins)

Session 2: Interactions (10.40-12.20PM)

Round table on the "Marina of the Future" (10.40am-11.40am, 60 mins) discussion on the following themes: Sustainability, Energy, Health, Security
Co-moderator: Oscar Siches, ICOMIA member
Speakers: Monaco (Aleco Keusseoglou, SEPM CEO),
Bahamas (Ra’anan Ben-Zur, Developer Abaco Marina Project),
China (Lawrence Wang Dafu, Chairman of Visun Group),
Montenegro (Tony Browne, Porto Montenegro Marina Director / Chairman of Global Marina Institute),
USA (Christian Denhard, Safe Harbor Rybovich SuperYacht Marina Director of marina operations),
Saudi Arabia (Brendan Jack, Amaala, Chief Sustainability
and Armed F. Shaker, MM, AMM Director of Marine Development and Operations, Sela).

Round table on technical areas / infrastructure (11.40am-12.10pm, 30 mins)
Speakers: David Queva, Monaco Marine, Chief Operation Officer,
Henk Dreijer, MB92 Group, Chief Business Development Officer,
Philippe Vincensini, La Ciotat Shipyards General Director.

Lunch and networking (12.15-1.45pm)

Welcome back by Monaco government (2.00-2.20pm)
Olivier Wenden, CEO of Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
Monaco, a Smart Marina role model for Smart Cities
Frédéric Genta, Extended Monaco Country Chief Digital Officer

Session 3: Action (2.20-5.00pm)

Round tables with industry leaders (2.20-3.35pm, 75 mins)

- How to preserve resources (Services & Biodiversity)? (2.20-2.45pm, 25 mins)
Moderator: Nicolas Roche, Professor at Aix-Marseille University
Speakers:
Pierfranck Pelacchi, SMEG Sales Director in charge of Innovation,
Matthieu Horgnies, Holcim, Technology Scouting Manager,
Manuel Nardi, Monégasque des Eaux, General Director

- How to contribute to carbon neutrality and to build a sustainable future? (2.45-3.10pm, 25 mins)
Moderator: Regis Hamelin, Blumorpho, Chief Technology Officer
Speakers: Alessandro Pellicanò, Enel-X, Global Sales & Business Development,
Eric Pingat, Pingat Property & Hospitality, President
Philippe Sajhau, IBM, France Vice President IBM - Metropolitan Program Leader

- Demonstrating the positive impact of Smart Marinas? (3.10-3.35pm, 25 mins)
Moderator: Regis Hamelin, Blumorpho, Chief Technology Officer
Speakers: David-Pierre Mangiapan, NGE Connect, Sales Director,
Nicolas Leterrier, Schneider Electric, CTO and Customers, Innovation and ONE Labs global VP,
Mark Brown, Teledyne FLIR, PCB CAD design engineer

Networking break (3.40-4.10pm, 30 mins)

Round table with private investors (4.10-4.40pm, 30 mins)
- How private investment contributes to reaching sustainability?
Moderator: Nitan Pathak, European Investment Fund
Speakers: Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head Sustainability Strategy,
Advisory and Finance, Credit Suisse
Sylvain Makaya, Eurazeo Partner,
Jérome de Richemont, Blue Pelican Capital,
Nicholas Naples, Aspirational Consumer Lifestyle Corp. and Turmeric Capital Group, Partner,
Carlo Calabria, CMC Capital Group Founder and Chairman

Impact keynotes (4.40-5.00pm, 20 mins)
Christophe Degoumois, Bombardier, Vice President International Sales
Aaron G. Frenkel, International investor and philanthropist, “The Frenkel Initiative to combat pollution’’

Start-up innovation awards (5.00-5.20pm, 20 mins)
Introduction of the Jury and presentation of the 15 selected finalists
Monaco Smart and Sustainable Marina Awards Ceremony
Pitches by the top three companies (in-person and online) and Awards Ceremony / Prize-giving

Closing cocktail (5.30-6.00pm)