{"id":529,"date":"2021-12-16T14:27:42","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T14:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prod-web.com\/?p=529"},"modified":"2022-01-30T16:06:10","modified_gmt":"2022-01-30T16:06:10","slug":"an-interview-with-bertrand-piccard-aninspioneer-for-efficient-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energyefficiencymagazine.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/16\/an-interview-with-bertrand-piccard-aninspioneer-for-efficient-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"An interview with bertrand piccard, an\u201cinspioneer\u201d for efficient solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”20px” equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” gradient_type=”default” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”1334″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”75%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”3\/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]\n
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Bertrand Piccard
\n<\/span><\/strong>Initiator and Chairman, Solar Impulse Foundation<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Bertrand Piccard is the founder of the Solar Impulse Foundation. In 2016, he completed the first ever
\ncircumnavigation of the globe in a solar-powered airplane. He is now developing collaborations with political and economic decision-makers to give them practical solutions for achieving clean economic growth. His goal
\nis to select 1000 solutions that can protect the environment in a profitable way and present them to decision-makers to fast-track their implementation.
\n<\/span>1. To what extent does the COVID-19 crisis offer us a chance to build a circular, sustainable, and highly competitive economy?<\/span>
\n<\/span>Of course, these times are challenging as we are facing a major economic crisis, theamplitude of which is still unclear.But there are also immense opportunities coming out of this crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed many weaknesses of our world: a fragile and inefficienteconomy, creating in equalities and a huge amount of pollution. This means there are thousands of opportunities for entrepreneurs to build new business models,
\nnew ways of producing and consuming, new systems, technologies, and processes. All of which must combine financial viability and protection of the environment. Because of COVID-19, we take less for granted. Life on autopilot has been disrupted, and the whispers are growing about a new path forward \u2013 letting go of the old ways of thinking. If ever there\u2019s a right time to create a circular, sustainable, and highly competitive economy, it is now.
\nIn fact, if we don\u2019t act now, we probably never will, and if we don\u2019t embrace sustainability as an economic path, we won\u2019t last on this planet because we will run out of resources. It\u2019s that simple.
\n<\/span>2. As the President of Solar Impulse, you flew around the world in a solar-powered aircraft.<\/span>
\nWere there useful insights for the aeronautics sector and how it can better capitalize on energy efficiency?<\/span>
\n<\/span>Of course, Solar Impulse, by achieving the first ever round-theworld solar flight, was a source of inspiration for the aeronautics sector at an innovation level. The light weight of the carbon fibers we used, the energy density
\nof our batteries, the energy efficiency of our solar cells, and the efficiency of our engine\u2026All of these were phenomenal.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But I think, more than the technological feat, the most important message of Solar Impulse was to show that nothing is impossible. People laughed at me when I first imagined a solarpowered aircraft. But by getting
\nrid of our certitudes and our old ways of thinking, by pushing the boundaries and the limits, we made it a reality. And that\u2019s something crucial for an industry that is constantly criticized. So if today, some people say that the aeronautic industry will never manage to be clean and sustainable or recover from this crisis, I think they\u2019re completely wrong. At the Solar Impulse Foundation we\u2019re identifying different tracks on the path to energy efficiency for the aeronautic sector. Not only with new technologies, but also with more modern procedures, on
\nthe ground and in the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Energy efficiency is an essential, clean, and profitable solution for economic recovery.<\/span>
\nHow can we expand upon its potential?<\/span>
\n<\/span>Our world has been until now, a world of waste, wasting between 50 and 75% of the energy and the food we produce, as well as the natural resources we extract. This is why for me the argument for energy efficiency is logical even more than ecological. It\u2019s the fact that we\u2019re going to create even more jobs and make a lot of profit
\nto implement the technologies that are going to help us to save energy, food, and natural resources. The financial argument is therefore the argument we have to put forward each time we speak with politicians and corporate leaders rather than only focusing on the benefits on the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bertrand Piccard
\n<\/span>Initiator and Chairman, Solar Impulse Foundation<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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