The Nautic Paris show puts solar navigation in the spotlight

Pavilion 1 at the Paris Boat Show 2021

Côte d'Azur sailing will be represented at the Paris Boat Show. Join us on Stand 1 E 52 in Pavillon 1 on our stand shared with the French Electric Boat Association AFBE.

Discover the maritime heritage of the Côte d'Azur and embark at the Port Vauban from where you can be tele-transported to Beaulieu-Sur-Mer for a visit on board the SeaZen. Thanks to the 360 vision tour application and the 3D helmet developed by the CCI Nice Côte d'Azur, you will sail silently and without smell on a 100% solar-powered boat.

360° Virtual Tour in a solar boat at Nautic2021 ParisConsult the Nautic online catalogue to know the dates of the events

Tell us about your dream of converting your boat to electric - the Retrofit. Try out your future solar boat and give a new meaning to your boating with the Pro Franchise to give a new meaning to your career.

Winner #VirtualNautic

SeaZen is very proud to have been awarded the Innovation Prize in the Service category by the French Nautical Industries Federation on the occasion of the Virtual Nautique on March 13th 2021.

Laureat-SERVICE_Concours-innovation

What is the Nautical Innovation Award?

This prize is awarded every year by the Federation of Nautical Industries and selects the best innovative projects. The jury is asked to decide on the basis of 3 criteria:

  1. The ease of boating
  2. The entrepreneurial process
  3. The ecological transition

The 2021 jury was composed of 4 representatives of the sector:

  • M. Jérôme de Metz, CEO of Groupe Bénéteau
  • M. Denis Robin, Prefect and Secretary General for the Sea
  • M. Nicolas Henard, President of the Fédération Française de Voile (FFV)
  • M. Fabrice Lacoume, Marine Director of Yamaha motors Europe et Vice-président de la FIN

And the two winners of the 2019 competition:

  • M. Alexandre Seux, founder of TEMO France for the category Products
  • Mme Elsa Nicol, CEO of Falco for the Services category

The 13 virtual competitors await their appearance on the Nautic stage
The 13 virtual competitors await their appearance on the Nautic stage

Video of the - virtual - presentation of seaZen

The full intervention of seaZen in this 3 minute video

After deliberation by the Jury, SeaZen was awarded the prize by the winner of the previous edition, Elsa Nicol, who reported that "the seaZen project ticks all the boxes". 

Why is this award important for solar boating?

After more than 4,000 visitors and 4,000 nautical miles travelled without connecting the boat to the electrical network since 2016, the demonstration is done. Solar boating has everything it takes to join the big family of boating, as we demonstrated during our presentation. We insisted on explaining that it is neither the sailing public, nor the motorboat public, it is a new public who seeks the charm of sailing and the comfort of the motorboat.

Mise en perspective de l'évolution de la plaisance
"Sailboats will one day evolve with photovoltaic sails and electric motors, but they will still be used by sailors; motorboats will switch to electric or hydrogen, after having started with steam, but they will still be used for the same purpose and by the same motorboating public; solar energy is new, it involves slow tourism and accessibility."

This award allows the seaZen franchise to gain notoriety. Moreover, seaZen will be invited to the next boat show. In view of the climate emergency, when we must also mobilise energies to boost the entire solar industry, beyond seaZen, this award is welcome. There is still so much to do. We need to help solar boat builders by boosting communication on this mode of navigation and create solar navigation schools based on the FFV model to train Solar Navigation Coaches.

We are convinced that the visibility offered by this prize will enable us to go even further and faster.

Acknowledgement and carbon impact of the Virtual Nautic

The organisation of this new format - virtual - makes it possible to avoid the CO2 emissions of visitors who come to Paris. With a potential of several hundred thousand visitors per year, how many tons of CO2 are saved by this virtual show?

SeaZen expresses its gratitude to the jury and to the Federation of Nautical Industries which organised this prize! It is an undeniable progress which completes the physical boat show that we hope to see again very soon in Paris.