Innovation and sustainability were the key elements of the projects presented at the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous at the Monaco Yacht Show.
The two-day event, organised by Monaco Marina Management (M3), experts in development, management and promotion of marinas and yacht clubs, at the Yacht Club de Monaco, enabled financiers, policymakers and innovators to get together and be put in contact with the whole marina ecosystem against a backdrop of sustainable tourism.
At the end of the event, the International Smart & Sustainable Marina Awards were given for three categories, Startup & Scale-up, Marina and Architects. The Startup Award was won by ‘Nereid Water’ with a sustainable seawater desalination system that works with solar energy and does not release brine into the ocean.
“We inaugurated our first plant near Toulon and a few days later we received this award. It means a lot to us because it is the consecration of all the work we have been carrying out for almost 15 years,” said the CEO of the Swiss company, Huy Ton That.
In the scale-up section, the prize went to Omniflow, a company that deals with finding smart solutions for cities. “We have created a smart IoT lamp post that is powered by wind and solar energy. A series of other applications can be installed inside it such as security cameras, wifi and artificial intelligence,” explained Pedro Ruao, founder and CEO, adding that he is “very happy” to receive the award.
Karpaz Gate Marina won the prize for marinas. Located in Northern Cyprus with its 300 berths, it has a beach club and a technical centre. “We have seen here – underlines managing director Liza Singer – a high level of competition, with very capable and established marinas and we are very proud to have won. We inaugurated our marina 11 years ago and it was immediately created as a sustainable and smart marina because it is located in a remote and underdeveloped area, in an area that is not politically recognised, therefore, with the aim of making the global yachting community aware of a new destination.”
The Monaco event was attended by 50 startups and scale-ups and 20 marinas and architects from 26 countries.
