MONACO, Sept. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Innovation and sustainability. These are the key elements of the projects presented at the Monaco Smart & Sustainable Marina Rendezvous. The two-day event, organized by Monaco Marina Management (M3), experts in development, management and promotion of marinas and yacht clubs, at the Yacht Club de Monaco, enables financiers, policymakers and innovators to get together and be put in contact with the whole marina ecosystem against a backdrop of sustainable tourism.

"We created this event to bring together all the structures and young people who propose technological innovations that can be applied in the smart marinas of the future and in yacht clubs," says Marco Casellini, CEO of M3. At the end of the event, the International Smart & Sustainable Marina Awards were given for three categories, Startup & Scaleup, Marina and Architects. The Startup Award was won by 'Nereid Water' with a sustainable seawater desalination system that works with solar energy and does not release brine into the ocean. "We inaugurated our first plant near Toulon and a few days later we received this award. It means a lot to us because it is the consecration of all the work we have been carrying out for almost 15 years," says the CEO of the Swiss company, Huy Ton That. For the scaleup section, the prize went to Omniflow, a company that deals with finding smart solutions for cities. "We have created a smart IoT lamp post that is powered by wind and solar energy. A series of other applications can be installed inside it such as security cameras, wifi and artificial intelligence," explains Pedro Ruao, founder and CEO, adding that he is "very happy" to receive the award.

Karpaz Gate Marina won the prize for the marinas. Located in Northern Cyprus with its 300 berths, it has a beach club and a technical centre. "We have seen here - underlines managing director Liza Singer - a high level of competition, with very capable and established marinas and we are very proud to have won. We inaugurated our marina 11 years ago and it was immediately created as a sustainable and smart marina because it is located in a remote and underdeveloped area, in an area that is not politically recognized, therefore, with the aim of making the global yachting community aware of a new destination." Limassol Marina, in Southern Cyprus, tied for second place. "We are very happy to have been awarded. Because we built this project from the ground up with a completely blank canvas, we were able to integrate the latest technology and best practice into the project and, in terms of operation, we continue to invest in latest technology to really show what can be done in marinas in terms of sustainable development," says managing director Tom Lord.

In the architecture section, the Paris-based Fresh Architectures studio won the hearts of the jury. "In our project - explains Ulisse Gnesda, one of the founders of the studio - there are two main themes: the first that we safeguarded a part of the existing building, which seemed important to us and the other of recovering rainwater and gray water. The project interprets these two themes: the protection of the existing building and we have inverted umbrellas that recover the water."

The event was attended by 50 startups and scaleups and 20 marinas and architects from 26 countries. The famous French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte chaired over the jury that decided among the numerous proposals.

For more information:
Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

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