Amazed At How Far The Boundaries Of Science Have Been Pushed: HSH Prince Albert II At CleanEquity Monaco 2018 Awards
On 9th March 2018, the closing day of one of the most prestigious clean-technology conferences in the world, CleanEquity Monaco 2018, the award ceremony took place, honouring the companies who presented their profiles in the realm of clean technology and sustainability.
His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco graced the occasion with his presence. “It is good to see so many of our regular delegates, sponsors and previous award winners. I’m also delighted to welcome those of you have not been here before and our new sponsors: Cohesion Investments, The Shell Foundation; and STRATIS Impact, who come to us all the way from Korea," said Prince Albert II.
“Over a decade ago, Mungo and I wanted to find a way to bring together scientists, politicians, investors, journalists and innovators, to leverage individual brilliance and collective strategies - to research, develop and commercialise new technologies, which will enable tomorrow to be cleaner, more efficient and ultimately, more sustainable than today. CleanEquity Monaco was born from the belief that bringing people together for two busy days would be a catalyst to create productive relationships and idea building.”
“I am pleased and proud, that this conference has become an important part of the sustainability landscape. Over the years some 300 companies have presented their plans to over 1,600 attendees. Those companies have gone on to raise nearly $2 billion dollars. Friendships have been forged and as we hoped - (as I shall describe shortly) - great strides have been made towards a cleaner, safer, more sustainable future thanks to the interdisciplinary nature of our meetings”, said Prince Albert II, adding that, “As with years gone by, there are many brilliant technologies and processes for us to learn about. That makes it a tough job for the judges to single out three companies. As I sit with the judges through that process, I can’t help but be amazed at how far the boundaries of science have been pushed since we were last here.”
Some of the innovations which Prince Albert II mentioned in his speech were - A new generation of super-capacitors, which could transform EV battery technology and address, head on, the coming age of “shared – autonomous – mobility”; The possibility of a “NEW” nuclear energy age, with a novel fuel that enables commercially viable, safe, clean, energy generation from existing and new, cheaper reactors. Better still, because it’s plutonium is useless for weaponisation, it does not allow for proliferation; New heat pump boilers that provide heat, hot water and air conditioning producing natural gas efficiency of up to 200%; Engines that use waste heat and run on hot water; A breakthrough in lithium-ion battery recycling; A biological approach to de-vulcanising rubber and so on.
The 2018 winners at the CleanEquity Monaco 2018, in the field of research, development and commercialization were:
Research:
Winner - Superdielectrics - A company which has filed patents and is commercialising a very significant scientific breakthrough in supercapacitor electrolyte materials and electrical energy storage.
Runner Up - Silicon Fuel - A company, a spin out of Oxford University and is taking the technology of solid-state hydrogen fuel, which is potentially priced competitive with fossil fuels to market.
Development:
Winner - NanoSpun Technologies - A company which has ‘active biological fabrics’ and ‘active biological cassettes’- which offer a revolutionary, game-changing approach for advanced biological processes, such as advanced water and wastewater treatment, clean energy fermentation, synthetic biology processes as well as health, nutrition and cosmetics applications.
Runner Up - Li-Cycle - A company which has an industry-leading closed-loop technology for the recovery of resources from spent lithium-ion batteries and recycling them.
Commercialisation:
Winner - BBOXX - A next-generation utility providing affordable, upgradeable solar solutions to bring an on-grid experience to people living in off-grid areas.
Runner up - Greyrock- A company which has an industry-leading Direct Fuel Production systems to produce premium, cleaner burning liquid fuels from alternative and waste resources including flare gas and waste carbon dioxide.
His Serence Highness went on to say, “I wish I had been here for Alain Gachet’s Radar Technologies. It is astonishing the success rate he and his team have had in finding freshwater aquifers, particularly amongst communities where conflict looms. Alain, you and the people of Cape Town, have our support and best wishes for rapid success in averting disaster.”
“It is the people assembled in this room that help turn science fiction to science fact. I am so pleased that Monaco can be a testing ground for new technologies, furthering my longstanding commitment for Monaco to be a model country, which respects the natural environment and strives to be carbon neutral by 2050.”
Prince Albert II, added, “Just this past year, six 3D printed reefs, each weighing 2,500 kilos were submerged in the waters just outside this hall. Not many years ago the idea of 3-dimensional printing anything – let alone massive structures, would have been dismissed as cheap fiction. Now we can mimic the complexity of the natural environment and thus encourage the restoration of ecosystems by creating suitable habitats for marine life.”
