Paris, France
On July 6th 2017, Energy Observer was christened in Paris by Nicolas Hulot, ambassador of the boat, in the presence of Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, Florence Lambert, director of the CEA-Liten and ambassador of the boat, and Bertrand Piccard, President of the Solar Impulse Foundation.
Coming from: Saint-Malo, France
Time of arrival: 8:30 AM
The baptism of Energy Observer
It’s official, Energy Observer has finally been baptised. Born in 1983 under the name of Formule Tag, it claimed the Jules Vernes trophy in 1994 as Enza New Zealand, and was reborn as Energy Observer and primed to make the first trip round the world on hydrogen and renewable energies.
Bertrand Piccard speaks at the press conference in Paris
This founding moment of the adventure was preceded by a press conference at the Bateaux Mouches Club, host partner, to present the boat’s technologies and the first images of the voyage up the Seine powered by renewable energies and hydrogen to the Paris media, as well as to announce the tour of France that Energy Observer is going to perform until 2017.
“Energy Observer, just like Solar Impulse, makes exploration work for a better quality of life. We need to lead people towards the future by showing them solutions instead of depressing them.”
The #green future is possible! @energy_observer is a concrete project & the opportunity to raise awareness around the world
It was in the Port du Gros Caillou, where the boat is moored until July 15th, that the crew, partners and press welcomed Nicolas Hulot and Anne Hidalgo, who had come for the occasion. After a tour of the boat by Victorien Erussard, Jérôme Delafosse and Didier Bouix of CEA-Liten, it was in the central cabin that everyone gave their support to the project and to the crew.
“Paris is a city which channels innovation and the desire to invent the future, with solutions from the future. There is a will among the inhabitants of cities like Paris to be proactive. We are not condemned to thinking that tomorrow must be worse than yesterday. I am convinced that tomorrow will be better, because there will be more respect for the planet and for the human beings that we are.”
#Paris is proud to be the godmother city of #EnergyObserver. This project demonstrates that #ecology rhymes with #innovation and creativity! #Climate
After the speeches, it was time for action : it was the turn of Nicolas Hulot to make the symbolic gesture of breaking the bottle of champagne on the boat’s anchor, under the emotional eye of the crew, the team, the partners, but particularly of Victorien Erussard.