The largest event dedicated to sustainable mobility and renewable energy in the Principality took place last weekend in the presence of Prince Albert II. The main buzz words during this year’s Ever event were: “sustainable aviation”.
“Thanks to HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco for his visit to EVER Monaco, his involvement and his availability to exhibitors,” said Ever Monaco.
Ever has always been known for showcasing sustainable cars on the cutting edge of innovation, but this year, the event took to the skies and presented an exciting new electric jet for the first time “ever”. The Lilium Jet is the first five-seater jet equipped with 36 electric motors for vertical take-off and landing. Monaco is directly concerned when it comes to sustainable aviation, since electric vertical take-off and vertical landings would allow for regular routes between Nice and Monaco.
Quiet airplanes?
Not only is the jet clean, but it’s also quiet. Carbon pollution and noise pollution are big issues on the Côte d’Azur. Noise generated by helicopters over houses has led to funding for noise reducing electric helicopters and planes with vertical landing. Today, there are over 700 sustainable aviation projects in existence. The main obstacle in electric aviation is batteries strong enough for the vertical take-off of such heavy aircrafts. The first electric aircraft to be officially certified will be done so during the 2024 Olympic Games in France.
Start-up competition!
EVER Monaco offers young startups the opportunity to present their projects during a pitch competition, which took place this year in front of members of Monegasque institutions. Prizes for the most innovative startups were awarded to: WeRecy (first prize), Coraliotech (second prize) and Value Park (third prize). Cactile won the “special jury prize” and Ultracade won “jury’s favourite”.
F1 team manager presents “Circle” at Ever
Eric Boullier, former team manager of the Lotus and McLaren teams in Formula 1, is embarking on a new adventure with Circle, a car-sharing operation, which he presented at this year’s EVER. The new approach to mobility is in the form of small two-seater vehicles which can be geolocated on one’s phone. Users can reserve, rent and take the cars from point A to point B. Once at the destination, users park and only pay for what they used.
Recycling electric batteries
Another hot topic at this year’s Ever was the impact of electric car batteries and how to recycle them. Electric batteries are made up of things that are easier to recycle (like plastic and copper) and more polluting, non-renewable components like lithium (often described as “the next oil”).
Volvo Construction Equipment France, a main partner of the event, is concerned about recycling batteries. They exhibited electric trucks dedicated to road transport and their zero emission range dedicated to construction. They also hosted an electric mini-excavator handling challenge. According to the company, the batteries have a long lifespan and they get a second life in mobile battery packs which bring energy to construction sites.
