Green light for sustainable technologies
AQUON was represented at the first edition of the Berlin GreenTech Festival from 23 to 25 May of 2019. The event proved the strong interest in hydrogen as a promising fuel for the future.
The marine industry is turning green
What does the future of the marine industry look like? The cruise and yacht industries, in particular, have a big potential for improvement and a need to catch up in terms of their environmental performance. Our founder Adrian Beer spoke about this topic in the panel on sustainability in the marine industry as part of the Green Leaders Conference program. Together with the three other panel participants Gerry Marshall (Ferguson Marine), Janne Kjellmann (Q-Yachts) and Konrad Bergström (X-Shore), he exchanged views on electrical, hybrid and hydrogen solutions as future drives.
Sustainability determines different areas of life
Sustainability is not only making its way into the marine sector. This was demonstrated by the approximately 60 exhibitors at the GreenTech exhibition, including AQUON. A first insight into what the finished catamaran AQUON One will look like awaited the visitors of our booth. The high-quality design of the hull could be admired as a 360 degree view on a screen. The visitors also experienced the stylish interior during a virtual tour. The lively interest in the energy concept as well as the enthusiasm for the design of AQUON One are a great recognition.
Other exhibitors from all over the world presented their latest sustainable innovations in areas such as mobility, clothing and nutrition. In the mobility sector, in particular, numerous impressive products and prototypes were exhibited – from electric city scooters, to autonomous helicopters as future taxis, to electric sports cars and motorcycles. Equally impressive and pleasing are the numerous companies that want to make the world’s oceans cleaner. While shipbuilders reduce their emissions for this purpose, clothing manufacturers use plastic waste from the sea to manufacture their textiles.
Hydrogen in the spotlight
In order to minimize the environmental impact and at the same time to enable a self-sufficient energy supply, AQUON One uses hydrogen as fuel. This emerging fuel experienced great interest during the GreenTech festival. The shipping company Ferguson Marine received an award for the world’s first sea-going vehicle and passenger ferry that will employ carbon-free hydrogen as energy source. The Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai is also relying on hydrogen and presented a vehicle with an innovative fuel cell. The success of hydrogen speaks for itself and paves the way for AQUON One as the first hydrogen-powered premium catamaran.
About GreenTech Festival
The GreenTech Festival is the worldwide hub for future oriented, green technologies. Among the three founders of the festival is Nico Rosberg, former Formula 1 champion. The event attracted more than a thousand award and conference guests as well as tens of thousands of visitors. It took place for the first time this year and is a combination of different event formats.
The two-day Green Leaders Conference featured exciting panels with inspiring speakers from around the world who looked at sustainability from different angles. The Green Awards recognised sustainable ideas and companies. A total of 60 global companies exhibited their products and prototypes at the GreenTech Exhibition. Because of its pioneering role in sustainability efforts, Norway was the first official partner country of the Greentech Festival and was represented by Crown Prince Haakon of Norway along with numerous Norwegian companies. At the same time, the popular Formula E took place at the outside area of the former Tempelhof airport.
“We have always thought, what can we add to the Formula E event that can make it more relevant? And the GreenTech Festival takes it to the next level” said Alejandro Agag, Formula E Founder & CEO.