Gründertipps von Abenteurer Bertrand Piccard | #CleanTech 🌱

00:00:00: So, hello everybody.

00:00:01: Today we have a very special deep dive clean tech podcast.

00:00:08: You already hear that I'm speaking in English and i try to do my best.

00:00:12: throughout this whole podcast.

00:00:14: We have a special guest here who is Bertrand Picard.

00:00:16: He's the famous explorer an adventurer.

00:00:20: He has done very astonishing activities, one of the recent which he became famous for is that he travelled around the globe as first human being on this planet with a balloon.

00:00:36: And also has flown around the global with solar powered airplane.

00:00:43: Petropika is coming from a very interesting family background because already his father and grandfather, maybe we can learn more about them as well how they inspired you.

00:00:58: They also were adventurers and explorers.

00:01:01: while let's say circling the globe, your father was actually going down the globes more or less trying to find the deepest part of the ocean.

00:01:11: I think he dived around eleven thousand miles down in the ocean and you grandfather... He didn't go down!

00:01:18: He didn' t go round ...he actually went up.

00:01:20: so he was first person on the globe actually to get into a stratosphere with balloon And maybe just start our conversation here.

00:01:28: I heard this, a very interesting fact that the captain of Enterprise Jean Picard of Star Trek.

00:01:36: This figure was actually inspired by your grandfather's twin and that famous professor Beinlein –this is for German speakers now– Or I think in English or French, it's Tin Tin.

00:01:51: He was inspired by your grandfather as well so

00:01:54: Your

00:01:55: family actually made into the fictional world Aswell inspiring a lot of people.

00:02:00: So you're truly inspiring person as well.

00:02:03: So welcome very much, Benton Picard and... Thank

00:02:06: you very much.

00:02:07: hello to everybody!

00:02:08: Hello yes so yeah I don't know.

00:02:10: maybe we can actually start with this personal background which you have.

00:02:14: how much influence your father-and-your grandfather had on your activities?

00:02:19: i was inspired of course by their adventures but also the purpose.

00:02:26: The goal was always to improve quality of life, it's always to bring something new into the world and protect our environment.

00:02:35: When my grandfather went in to the stratosphere sixteen kilometers up on a pressurized capsule that he had invented his goal is showing us how it can survive at very high altitude because he took his own pressure with him from the capsule as well as flying above bad weather in thinner air where the air resistance is lower So you can fly with much less fuel.

00:03:00: And in this way, he opened the way to modern aviation.

00:03:04: and when my father made a deepest dive ever into bottom of the marina trench that was eleven kilometers down.

00:03:10: his goal is show there's life on the deepest trenches at period where governments wanted throw their radioactive and toxic waste out there.

00:03:21: When we saw fish it really was an alarm that was running to say, stop dumping all this stuff down there.

00:03:27: It's going to destroy the ocean because if you have a fish what does it mean?

00:03:31: It means you have currents from top of surface and countercurrents that make oxygen circulate.

00:03:39: otherwise they would be no life down here.

00:03:40: The oxygen coming in form on the surface.

00:03:43: So that is when the government decided to ban the dumping of radioactive waste in the deepest trenches.

00:03:51: So for me, it was always the proof that exploration has to bring technology but also human values improve quality-of life protect environment and everything I try do myself.

00:04:06: so this is actually a common theme.

00:04:09: what your grandfather did?

00:04:11: What you fathered with yourself doing we will learn more about today is not just explore the boundaries of technologies, but also because these very visible and exciting activities they have done.

00:04:27: You are creating some awareness in visibility so you're communicating as well to all over the world about your activity.

00:04:36: So this really seems fit together.

00:04:39: Yes!

00:04:40: Because for my father or grandfather technology had to be proven.

00:04:47: So they went into their own craft and they have total faith in technology, and it's a technology can really serve the world.

00:04:56: for me there is an additional factor It's not only technology but what people do with this technology.

00:05:05: how are aware of that?

00:05:07: How did you include them into your life?

00:05:09: And I want to bring proof That the newest technologies today The most modern technologies in terms of energy efficiency, renewable energy and reducing the waste of natural resources.

00:05:23: In terms of circular economy all this can be a way to make better world also for developing countries more wealth social stability and peace.

00:05:37: so Solar Impulse was a demonstrator of it.

00:05:40: you know everybody is saying its impossible to make plane that flies perpetually day and night with no fuel.

00:05:48: And I wanted to show that it was possible...

00:05:50: When i talked my kids this morning, they had an immediate question.

00:05:54: They said well is he actually checked out when flying around the globe how good the world still is?

00:06:01: So you're not just proving that with a solar plane.

00:06:04: you are actually proved technology's able do good.

00:06:09: but have we seen on planet while you were traveling, not just with the solar plane but also with the balloon.

00:06:16: How things have changed probably to worse maybe better at some point?

00:06:22: You see local pollution.

00:06:23: when I was flying with Solar Impulse over an oil tanker on the sea leaving a huge trail of oil behind him and i was in my solar powered airplane With no pollution or noise nor fuel... ...I think there are two different worlds.

00:06:41: There is the world of the present that is one with clean technologies and a world in the past, all this pollution.

00:06:48: But there are even more dramatic situations than you don't see.

00:06:54: it's result climate change.

00:06:56: You do not see CO² in atmosphere.

00:06:59: but for example the methodological statistics today are completely erratic.

00:07:07: The Mansoon in India used to start every year on the same day.

00:07:12: Now they can be one or two months of difference, so when we were preparing the flight around the world with a balloon it was already quite disbalanced but with solar impulse it was completely crazy because we could not rely on statistics

00:07:28: even sort of different between I think that balloon ride was in nineteen ninety nine exactly and this solar impulse flight was in twenty fifteen

00:07:36: sixteen yes

00:07:37: within fifteen, sixteen years.

00:07:39: You have seen this difference?

00:07:40: Yeah

00:07:40: absolutely!

00:07:41: This is what we see with climate change.

00:07:43: Climate change isn't just that one more degree in summer or Berlin and enjoy good weather.

00:07:49: it's a complete disturbance of the equilibrium of nature.

00:07:55: so even more than a climate change its'a climate breakdown everything becomes unpredictable an exaggerated.

00:08:04: if it is dry will become more dry If it is wet, it will become flooded.

00:08:09: All these things are destroying the balance of the world and we really have to wake up about that.

00:08:16: And waking up means to wake... the planet and people, because there seems to be a really difficulty or challenge.

00:08:25: Because most people just see around themselves right now.

00:08:28: they may have time period of one two three four five years And it's really challenging to communicate with other people that change over twenty thirty forty fifty years is already happening today.

00:08:41: That means we need do something about it.

00:08:44: Absolutely you know.

00:08:45: California in had more fire in the woods, more forest destroyed by a fire than between two thousand and twenty sixteen.

00:08:57: In one year!

00:08:58: More then sixty years... And two thousand eighteen is already worse that two thousand seventeen.

00:09:02: But we could spend entire interview speaking about all problems of climate change.

00:09:08: All people listening to us would be depressed, discouraged and think there's no hope.

00:09:13: So what I want tell them Is if you do nothing In ten, twelve-fifteen years the quality of life will be destroyed.

00:09:22: We'll have tropical diseases in Germany we'll have floods and droughts millions, dozens of millions of climate refugees flooding over Europe.

00:09:33: But if you do something... ...we can stop this problem And there are solutions!

00:09:38: It's not wishful thinking it is all that we're going to do later.

00:09:43: No Today we've got solutions everywhere in startups, in research labs even big corporations.

00:09:51: that can divide by two the emissions of CO² already now.

00:09:59: And this is because our world today is wasting energy using very old technologies combustion engines badly insulated houses incandescent light bulbs inefficient heating and cooling systems.

00:10:14: so today it's not huge change that we need.

00:10:18: It's a modernization of infrastructures

00:10:21: and even some of the technologies has been there already.

00:10:24: I just recently saw pictures from New York, I think in nineteen tenths something like this There were electric scooters running around the streets And then for some reason they didn't appear anymore on the street said all these combustion engines which was back Then is something very modern appeared on the streets.

00:10:40: So a lot of these things and like that, the photon effect off of the solar cells which items were for which Einstein actually got his Nobel Prize at I think your grandfather was interacting with Einstein as well.

00:10:55: what i read.

00:10:56: so A lot of this technologies a lot Of these inventions Actually has been there already?

00:10:59: And What I really liked about you message is It's not just about political objectives, it is not just environmental engagement which we all need.

00:11:09: but you really have business models and technologies.

00:11:14: Some of these technologies existed already fifty or eighty years ago so nobody was keen to use them.

00:11:24: Today they've become profitable.

00:11:26: the critical mass in terms of production that has been achieved.

00:11:29: So you can now produce electricity with wind and solar power for one third the price, making electricity with oil gas or coal.

00:11:39: so this is a huge change!

00:11:41: You have an electric car at the same cost as the gasoline engine.

00:11:47: You can insulate your house of your investment in four years.

00:11:54: You can change so many things, you can produce sea water air conditioning for example.

00:12:00: if you live on the coast .You take the water ,you pump water from nine hundred meters depth it comes out at five point five degrees and you circulate air through this cold water And you have your air-conditioning For a hotel in Polynesia French Polynesian.

00:12:17: they have it.

00:12:18: They save eighty five thousand euros per month of electricity, which means one million per year.

00:12:25: And it costs four and a half million to do it...to invest.

00:12:28: so in four-and-a-half years you have the payback time!

00:12:31: So we see that all these things.

00:12:32: they are logical..so what we have to do is push governments to push industry really go for this technologies modernize their systems and infrastructures.

00:12:42: That's already needed.

00:12:43: but I'm on off challenges i've seen throughout all those years conservatism in the structure as well itself.

00:12:53: So, the political system is not really moving as quickly as we both probably would like to see.

00:12:59: if elections coming up.

00:13:01: you have legislations which it's like twenty thirty forty years old which has been built around an industry was back then modern and but takes so much time.

00:13:14: change this legislation.

00:13:17: It takes time to change if we don't change.

00:13:20: Absolutely, and I just wanted to come back because the hope is great proof points which actually have also with all of these examples that you were just mentioning are there.

00:13:32: There's technologies out there, business models.

00:13:36: We need some tweak in legislation here as well As an investor.

00:13:45: So where do you see there the biggest challenge and maybe your role as well to change that?

00:13:52: Ten years ago, politicians were more ready to change than in industry.

00:13:57: Today it's the opposite.

00:13:58: The industry has understood all these solutions are profitable And they want them to implement but need an equal play field.

00:14:09: So we need a regulation that helps to stop the distortion of competitivity between dirty ones and clean one.

00:14:17: What do you want?

00:14:19: Are politicians who have vision?

00:14:22: And it's not only for energy, but also protection of their environment.

00:14:26: Today what are the politicians doing ?

00:14:28: They're denying problems they put dust under carpets trying make them as smooth lifetime as a politician, and they do day-to-day management.

00:14:42: What's the result?

00:14:43: People are fed up.

00:14:45: Population is not taken seriously.

00:14:48: Populations feel their problems and see no change And start to vote for extreme left or extreme right For populism.

00:14:57: Because even if we don't like the visions of the populist They have a vision Even without solutions Proposing solutions.

00:15:09: They have clear messages, so the population is ready to follow them.

00:15:12: they're fed up of all people who don't move and do nothing.

00:15:16: So what we need in politics are politicians with visions Who explain?

00:15:22: What we have to achieve why We have to achieved it And how were going to do it.

00:15:28: It would be a fantastic plan for Europe instead of fighting between countries because of immigration different views to set the goal of protecting the environment in Europe, to modernize infrastructures.

00:15:44: To use the solutions in industry and this can be Eastern Europe or Western Europe it could be Northern Europe or Southern Europe.

00:15:50: It would make a common vision bring people together... ...it will increase job creation.. ..it'll increase profits.... ...it'd put Europe's industry on the center of the map again, because now it starts to be really marginal what we are doing in terms of international innovation compared with China and Asia.

00:16:14: So this I believe would bring back some hope for the population but its not.

00:16:21: that has been done And i know you're working also David.

00:16:26: We want show that solutions exist That they are profitable that politicians can pull in this direction because if they make a more modern regulation, If it's a regulation which is more ambitious with energy policy and environmental targets.

00:16:44: It will pull all these innovations to the market as long we are allowed to pollute or change nothing.

00:16:52: But if we are not allowed to pollute anymore, all these profitable innovations will come on the market and be beneficial for us.

00:16:59: And what do you want them to motivate?

00:17:01: I would like them to modernize regulation Today.

00:17:06: it is allowed to pollution waste energy natural resources.

00:17:14: It's allowed to destroy earth completely.

00:17:16: This isn't normal.

00:17:18: We need to modernise legal system in order to have much more ambitious and modern regulations for energy, for water, for preservation of the environment.

00:17:29: And all this... If you had these tougher regulation or modern regulation what would happen?

00:17:36: It will pull all innovations into market because today we push innovation with subsidies, with grants on pictures.

00:17:45: it's good but not enough.

00:17:48: We need to create a necessity to use these solutions on the market.

00:17:56: And this can only be done by regulation.

00:17:58: and one of these regulations is carbon tax, another regulation needs.

00:18:04: It's mandatory to be more efficient for buildings, for heatings or cooling systems and stop using this crap that is a hundred years old.

00:18:13: But taking the carbon tax as an example... The challenge seems.

00:18:17: we have two-hundred something countries around the globe.

00:18:21: Some of them work closer together let say in European Union Have common legislation potentially.

00:18:27: but how do you convince?

00:18:29: all of them actually to go the same path.

00:18:31: Because you could still, and I think aviation industry is a very good example where countries tried to implement something like carbon tax.

00:18:39: but if there's a carbon tax in one country making it feel more expensive exactly they were your fuel or airplane but they can easily feel the airplane in a neighbor country where there is no CO-toe text.

00:18:52: So you have lot of free riders as well and countries trying to optimize around lowering the taxes, attracting businesses technologies etc.

00:19:03: which are obviously very short term view.

00:19:06: But this happening how...

00:19:08: It's easy to answer Just for aviation industry because we took these examples.

00:19:14: If you want to land in a country that has carbon tax and transport the fuel from other countries, so you don't need refueling in the country of the carbon tax.

00:19:25: You have enough fuel for your round trip.

00:19:29: The energy needed to transport this additional fuel is much more expensive than paying the carbon taxes at places where it can be refueled.

00:19:38: It's completely logic but there are many stupid people who do not understand anything.

00:19:44: Sweden was smart.

00:19:46: Sweden has not waited for the entire world to have a carbon tax, they introduced it and made the industry more competitive.

00:19:55: so let's not believe that the carbon tax is something we had to pay additional cost to protect environment.

00:20:02: in this case all of us do at once otherwise doesn't work.

00:20:06: lets see as a way to stimulate efficiency and competitivity Be desperate to have a carbon tax.

00:20:16: So one of the most challenging probably politicians in this context is probably the current president of United States, Mr Trump.

00:20:24: if you had The possibility to talk to him what will be your pitch?

00:20:30: Your message term to convince it?

00:20:32: You know his mindset

00:20:33: that the only way to make America great again Is to modernize infrastructures invest In renewable energies clean technologies energy efficiency.

00:20:44: That is more profitable, that creates more jobs and it will make America great again.

00:20:49: But I need to see him once i have the one thousand solutions in a portfolio because if I say he now when they tell them I'm going to bring you the proof You can be more profitable being cleaner He'll come back later.

00:21:04: So only then all the one-thousand solutions with a label of profitability, then it's powerful argument.

00:21:11: So maybe takes another two years and he may not be around anymore so might easier to have conversation with his successor?

00:21:18: Yes!

00:21:18: Then I will go see.

00:21:19: president of Brazil.

00:21:21: He is there for more than two year And in Brazil its very clear also what you can do renewables how we could be more profitable How absorb unemployment by increasing the efficiency.

00:21:34: So let's get into this a little bit more in detail.

00:21:37: what you're doing right now, because actually are using all these great contacts of course your popularity as well.

00:21:48: people know you and have seen the solar impulse flight.

00:21:52: they got inspired.

00:21:54: We just had a breakfast this morning with a lot of clean tech startups here in Berlin who all got very inspired as well and motivated to do their own solutions.

00:22:03: So how do you use these now, the dynamic?

00:22:06: And what are your planning on that right

00:22:09: now ?

00:22:09: My Solar Impulse Foundation has created The World Alliance for Efficient Solutions.

00:22:15: It's a way to federate incubators accelerators start-ups or big companies who come for free, they just sign chartered for ethical value.

00:22:25: It's based on the United Nations' global compact values and once they sign it completely for free again we can submit solutions that have.

00:22:36: We've had independent experts to assess these solutions.

00:22:39: if its proven that is technologically credible impact is positive in society environment and financially profitable creating jobs, sustaining the life of a company even good for in terms of energy saving.

00:22:59: For example on the energy bill or consumer then we give the label.

00:23:04: it's a solar impulse efficient solution label and The first one thousand solutions that will receive the label Will be included in the portfolio That I will bring In the new round-the-world trip.

00:23:15: so not around the world exactly.

00:23:17: yeah they're round the World for Solutions and bring them to heads of states, governments ministers parliamentarians key decision makers corporates leaders or CEOs but you

00:23:30: will not fly around with a solar plane.

00:23:32: No because the portfolio of The Thousand Solution would be too

00:23:36: heavy

00:23:36: right?

00:23:36: I don't want put it on an USB key!

00:23:38: Yeah i want show that its massive thing With alot pages with lots illustrations really showing what is when they put in the desk head-of state.

00:23:49: because I want to really have the head of state remember those are heavy solutions, it's not just like an anecdote.

00:23:57: How many solutions have already signed up for that?

00:24:00: Today we have one thousand four hundred companies who have signed-up.

00:24:04: out of these We have six hundreds solutions in a pipeline To be assessed and out of this you have so much creativity.

00:24:11: It is absolutely fascinating what all these startups have invented.

00:24:15: Can you give us some examples Most interesting business solutions which you have find?

00:24:20: one of them is called anti smog from a British company that he's called seagun.

00:24:26: It's little box containing liquid That you install on the combustion engine Of an actual car, a car.

00:24:34: You have now existing car and With the energy of the engine it hydrolyzes The liquid to produce hydrogen Little bit of hydrogen that goes into the cylinder in the combustion chamber And it increases the combustion so well that you have eighty percent less particles emitted, and you save twenty percent of fuel.

00:24:57: It's a payback time for a taxi of six months!

00:25:01: So when we see people who believe that the price of gasoline is too high... Well just don't care about the prices of gasoline.

00:25:09: You can install this thing.. ..and then you'll only save twenty per cent of the gasoline.

00:25:13: And I think these are good examples.

00:25:16: business solution actually can work without any policy push as well, right?

00:25:20: Because... Well

00:25:21: you know in a way yes because it's logical to do it.

00:25:25: But what we see is that so many people don't do it because they are lazy.

00:25:30: You have people who still have incandescent light bulbs although They can save half of their energy bill or three-quarters Of the energy bill with LED lamps but they just don't Do It!

00:25:40: So What would need for example is a much tougher regulation in terms of emissions off cars.

00:25:47: In order to force people use this system and when they install it, make the effort of installing it... They will be so happy because they'll save money!

00:25:58: But you have people who are so lazy that they prefer to waste money.

00:26:02: When do you plan on having all these thousands solutions certified?

00:26:08: And where would actually start your second world trip

00:26:11: As soon as possible?

00:26:13: Now we have a bottleneck on the experts.

00:26:15: We have enough solutions coming, enough startups who are interested in doing it but not enough experts because... Maybe

00:26:23: I can help you!

00:26:23: That would be wonderful and people will listen to us if they're experts having more than five years of experience in water energy mobility construction industry process or agriculture.

00:26:40: They are more than welcome to join the pool of experts.

00:26:46: We have now a hundred forty experts, but because they work for free... ...for good in the world and the future,... ..they do it with their own job so that we can not do as fast as needed.

00:27:02: So everybody who is listening please look at this organisation Solar Impulse,... ...look at the World Alliance initiative.

00:27:08: Absolutely!

00:27:09: You can apply as a startup, you can also join that general effort.

00:27:15: As a corporate and investor as well absolutely.

00:27:18: but we just heard.

00:27:19: We also need experts who are helping to evaluate business models technologies etc.

00:27:25: And so he can drop me an email.

00:27:27: I will forward this information to Bertrand Picard his team.

00:27:31: So i mean we have lot of listeners who have founded their own startups, Who are thinking maybe as well to form the start-ups?

00:27:44: What is it what you can share from your experience As an explorer or somebody that really has gone through The desert with some of your activities because things Have been failing.

00:27:57: How were able to encourage yourself?

00:28:00: so if there anything You would like to share From a inspirational point of view that people actually keep up the word, they don't give-up.

00:28:09: One sentence I told to myself almost every morning and I talk with my team very often is this following If it was easy somebody else would have done before And its really a decision for your life.

00:28:24: You can do something easy That everybody has done or you could be interested in inventing new things And inventing something new and implementing it, finding the funding for it is not easy at all.

00:28:39: I failed sometimes when i flew around in a balloon two first attempts were failures.

00:28:45: What was your biggest failure back then?

00:28:47: I took off with Breitling Orbiter One After a press conference.

00:28:53: when I said that I was going to fly around the world non-stop in a balloon, Richard Branson had failed.

00:28:58: Steve Fussett has failed and as I've said it's going to succeed.

00:29:01: It is going to be two or three weeks non stop on jet streams all over the world And after six hours... ...I went into water of Mediterranean Sea with technical failure.

00:29:12: You were in the middle of the military and sea, people were able to track you down.

00:29:17: Yeah I was rescued.

00:29:18: The balloon was destroyed, a capsule full of water... ...the electronic was damaged And the envelope on the balloon sank.

00:29:26: So i don't think that we can do much better in terms of failure When working with the Breitling watch company.

00:29:35: the owner told me.. ..the earth is not made for one day.

00:29:40: We probably need more than one attempt to go around it.

00:29:43: So we continued together!

00:29:45: But you just mentioned that Richard Branson was going to do this as Steve Fossett, too?

00:29:53: Was there like

00:29:55: a race?

00:29:56: It was a race... ...to achieve what is called the last great adventure of the twentieth century.

00:30:02: The last growl for aviation.

00:30:03: and at these moments I had no idea that Solar Impulse could exist and nobody was thinking about flying around the world in a solar-powered airplane.

00:30:14: And when I succeeded, in nineteen ninety nine... ...I saw that the limit was fuel!

00:30:20: I succeeded.

00:30:22: forty five thousand kilometers twenty days nonstop in the air from three point seven tons of liquid propane.

00:30:30: there were fourty kilos left at landing.

00:30:33: this is what i said.

00:30:33: okay fuel it's the limits not the sky but its the limit.

00:30:39: So let's try to fly without fuel, and Solar Impulse was born like that.

00:30:43: And in Solar Impuls there were moments where we were two months away from bankruptcy.

00:30:50: There is a moment when we broke the wing of our second prototype When we made the load test.

00:30:57: Well... We just had moments Where..we knew very close from failing And for all the engineers and other people in this team, it was very obvious that we were pioneers.

00:31:17: It's proof that we're explorers doing something difficult.

00:31:21: so it was reinforcing our wish to find a way to succeed.

00:31:27: but do as the WASP not be.

00:31:31: you know if your have room with several windows, and just one window is open.

00:31:37: The wasp will hit the first window that's closed.

00:31:39: we'll fight against it then die.

00:31:42: because they always try to same way...the Wasp will try every Window & find a One That Is Open & Will Escape.

00:31:49: you can do the experience at home.

00:31:51: its really interesting.

00:31:53: so We need to be WASP.

00:31:54: if You fail each time for the Same Reason Its Stupid!

00:31:58: You have to Fail Each Time For Another Reason And When You Have Explored Enough Wrong ways you can find the right way.

00:32:06: And for startups, very often it's like this.

00:32:07: so we need perseverance and resilience...

00:32:10: ...and also always awareness of changing your perspective or just looking into things differently to try to leave your usual path which is going?

00:32:23: Absolutely!

00:32:23: Like in a balloon if want change direction then you have to change altitude To find another wind that has an other directions.

00:32:33: and to change altitude you have to drop ballast.

00:32:36: And in life it's exactly like this, we have to draw up our certitudes or beliefs are convictions or dogmas or paradigms... But that is

00:32:46: not very easy!

00:32:48: How do get there?

00:32:49: You get there by observing what your paradigmes are your certitudes of belief each time taking a decision Each times answering questions reaction to produce and you have to understand that this Reaction or this answer is the result of your past Of what?

00:33:13: You, have learned it's not enough.

00:33:15: It will not help you to change.

00:33:17: So you have To try something else.

00:33:19: you Have to observe very honestly What you deeply believe And do Something Else.

00:33:24: and if you Do Something Else Or If You are Let's Say Ready to do something Else Then you have all the possibilities in front of you.

00:33:32: You have what, you know or don't know?

00:33:34: What are sure-off and uncertainties And your beliefs and other ways to see the world To understand this situation?

00:33:42: When we have these directions in front then change altitude.

00:33:47: Take one that leads us exactly like a balloon.

00:33:51: So be aware of objectives Be very clear about them And you need to be clear about your

00:33:58: motivations.

00:33:58: Not only because... Your motivation, You can be sure of it.

00:34:02: The objective is that you are sure But if you have the wrong strategy then you will miss and fail.

00:34:08: So normally with what I've learned.

00:34:13: i would do like this What all other ways of doing?

00:34:20: In a balloon when taking off For each altitude which direction should we take?

00:34:26: So you stabilize the balloon at a right altitude to have it in the correct direction.

00:34:30: When working on your project, all different ways of thinking will bring you to different results – which one should follow?

00:34:44: It's an active decision!

00:34:46: If you reproduce what we've learned… You'll never be an inventor or innovator that is successful.

00:34:53: You need to produce something that you have never learned, never learnt.

00:34:58: So where does it come from?

00:35:00: And this is the magic of creativity and adventure.

00:35:04: It's when you understand inside yourself.

00:35:08: there are so much more than what we've learnt.

00:35:11: We have your intuition, emotions, creativity, more performance More then all those things.

00:35:18: you have awareness That you're alive in your body in your life that this awareness is a way to produce something new, not just reproduce what you have learned.

00:35:31: That's interesting because looking at your biography as well... You started as medical doctor and if I look around all the sponsors which supported your solar impulse flight there were no any flight companies or any airplane company involved.

00:35:47: so actually pulled together team of people who all had, let's say an external perspective on the things which you were going to do.

00:35:58: There was not a penny given by an aeronautical specialist.

00:36:05: It was all The funding coming from chemical companies in Germany.

00:36:11: we have Covestro know the bio metal science.

00:36:14: Which became covestro?

00:36:16: We had Champagnes we had telecommunication ABB ABB, we had watchers.

00:36:24: We have elevators.

00:36:25: you know Schindler who needs to be efficient in order to have more sales.

00:36:31: How do you actually form a team?

00:36:34: and I think at the peak time?

00:36:35: You had like hundred fifty people working for you to realize that Hundred

00:36:39: fifty employees are the same.

00:36:40: how would you bring all of these People together?

00:36:42: is it division?

00:36:43: you were spreading

00:36:44: its mindset.

00:36:44: where sharing your mindsets?

00:36:46: It was interesting to see that we did not have mass consumer goods making normal sponsoring.

00:36:55: We had companies who, for most of them they are not making any sponsoring.

00:37:01: so they came in this project and the Solar Impulse Project because they wanted to allow something impossible to become possible.

00:37:09: So it was a way to stimulate innovation internally like for Solvence & Covestro develop new products that we could use, but they would bring on the market.

00:37:19: It was a way to show that there were supporting innovations and entrepreneurship... That they are pioneering companies!

00:37:29: And I'm really thankful for them.

00:37:31: it's fantastic You know at end of fundraising.

00:37:37: i think you can see in five minutes time if person is talking too

00:37:43: was interested or not.

00:37:44: Had a good spirit for that or not?

00:37:46: But

00:37:47: how did you maybe... That's something our listeners can learn from as well, How do you actually inspire and get all of these investors?

00:37:56: How did you get them motivated in your fundraising?

00:37:59: How much money did you fundraise by the way?

00:38:01: One hundred

00:38:02: seventy million over fifteen years.

00:38:05: So what is your secret negotiation skill to get all this funding?

00:38:11: Never try to convince.

00:38:14: Try to motivate, because when you convince somebody or you tried to convince him what do you do?

00:38:19: You're trying to fight against the part of other one who would like say no and you try to bring more and more arguments in a more arguments give them all resistance you create.

00:38:30: What you have to do is to motivate.

00:38:32: it means to make an alliance with The parts.

00:38:36: are they want?

00:38:37: I'd like to see us And if you do that, you are not fighting anymore.

00:38:42: You're not competing or forcing anything and the other one is not resisting but just seeing what can be done together?

00:38:49: Sometimes it was obvious there wasn't nothing to do with each other.

00:38:55: Fortunately we had a lot of things to do together so I never needed to push anybody in order

00:39:04: for me.

00:39:04: So you really need to know as well the objectives and motivations of your potential investors, then try to get them aligned with your motivation.

00:39:12: Absolutely!

00:39:13: You have to understand the world of The Other One.

00:39:17: We tend in our life to believe that our vision is better than others which is completely wrong.

00:39:23: sometimes it's the other who are much more right through performance or Better thinking Than we Are.

00:39:31: so we Really Have To leave a huge place for the vision of the world, or people to whom we're talking.

00:39:39: We have to speak their language and it's exactly why with the Solar Impulse Foundation I decided to take only projects that are profitable And we put a label on profitability because i want to speak the language Of the People That can change The World

00:40:00: and profitability from today's point of view or a point when, let us say regulation etc.

00:40:06: is ideally set up?

00:40:08: So we have two categories.

00:40:10: One are the solutions that already profitable to day There.

00:40:14: one system for example You recover heat going out of shower To give it water coming into the shower so you close circuit in order save hot water and save energy If it is a saving of one cent per hour and its two thousand euros to install, you can forget.

00:40:37: It doesn't work now.

00:40:39: if You save half a euro per shower And it costs three hundred euros then it's worth it And all the judgment has to be done like this.

00:40:50: If it is profitable, people will use it.

00:40:53: if its not profitable they won't do that.

00:40:55: I think there's a beauty about your initiative here as well just showing you're not improving in an environment where really creating jobs and value are attractive for investors... ...and taking more mainstream to those who may not care much of the environment or future on our planet And really taking this mainstream.

00:41:17: Yes, I would like to show that even if there was no climate change Even if they were no pollution it would make sense To use these one thousand solutions because you could just increase the GDP Create jobs but of course clean GDP.

00:41:35: It's not a Growth where you have more of everything.

00:41:39: it's a growth Where we replace the polluting things by the new modern Things which means that to create value.

00:41:47: You have more money Have more profit, but do not waste all natural resources on the planet?

00:41:53: Yes three daughters and We will see maybe another generation of explorers and pioneers

00:41:59: yes But may be not in the field you think.

00:42:02: I told them that's going for airplanes, balloons or submarines.

00:42:07: It has been done in the family.

00:42:08: they can do something else yes and one is lawyer The other one is Economist working in marketing on a third one as architect.

00:42:19: And then these three fields.

00:42:21: They can do a lot In terms of improving quality-of-life fighting more efficiency for circular economy, building a cleaner constructions and all that.

00:42:36: So actually they are really working in the direction of environments but through other angles which pleases me very much.

00:42:44: And this is something we need right?

00:42:47: Because it's not just technology but changing the legislation as we have talked about before, too.

00:42:52: We need to change people's mindsets and do a lot of communication and storytelling at end-of-the-day to inspire them towards this direction.

00:43:03: You said in beginning that you are full of hope if we analyze all dramatic developments globally which is one of these things globally Let's say worsened over time if you take the last four or five hundred years.

00:43:22: Everything else, education per person... ...the health system and poverty everything on a global scale really has been improved over the last couple of centuries, and a lot through working together for international trade.

00:43:37: Through I think these other positive sides of globalization as well.

00:43:41: they're not just negative sites here as well but The environment is probably one of these fields which it really needs to have a lot more push And its yeah great we have somebody like you who's doing this and pushing this.

00:43:54: I think we all should support what you're doing and...

00:43:59: Support each other.

00:44:00: Support

00:44:01: the people who are doing something.

00:44:02: Are there any wishes which have to start-ups, investors or entrepreneurs?

00:44:08: All of these startups, all of them have identified for themselves or others a profitable solution to protect their environment more than welcome.

00:44:19: submit them to our process completely for free, they can receive the label and be included in a portfolio.

00:44:26: All of the experts who want to join us on this assessment and evaluation process are more than welcome.

00:44:32: so... This is my wish that we also work with Germany.

00:44:37: We have four solutions from Germany.

00:44:40: Of course there's much more that exists or you could improve it.

00:44:44: We have out of one thousand four hundred members.

00:44:47: I think we have sixty members from Germany, so we can also improve this.

00:44:52: Maybe i'm not enough in germany but now we've created this contact David and im sure that... Absolutely Much more together.

00:45:01: Yeah, I mean as you know we have put together this equal innovation alliance which is an Alliance of startups Basically still in the German speaking world there even some Swiss companies part of that but basically based here and Germany right now.

00:45:15: Who all show it?

00:45:16: That they Have clean tech innovations And The objective Of This B to be Network Which We are Managing Here Is really to show politicians that there are solutions out there.

00:45:28: They don't need to wait for big corporates do something, they're great startups and their great companies as well who get quite attractive fundings.

00:45:36: all of these companies got attractive investments.

00:45:40: so you see the investment community is looking at this sector more and more.

00:45:48: I'm very happy to continue working with on it.

00:45:51: thankyou very much joining us in our podcast here

00:45:54: With pleasure, thank you for inviting me David.

00:45:56: All right bye-bye!