Payerne, 13 January 2022

SolarStratos warmly welcomes aboard Bordier & Cie, a leading Swiss private bank, as main sponsor for its mission ‘To the edge of space’.

Every day we burn through 300 tonnes of fossil fuels, releasing a massive 36 giga tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.* These greenhouse gases are endangering the stability of our climate. It is our responsibility to do whatever it takes today to tackle the climate emergency and ensure we can transition quickly and effectively to cleaner sources of energy.

The goal of SolarStratos is to demonstrate the huge potential of solar energy by sending a manned, solar-powered aircraft into the stratosphere for the first time in history.

By teaming up with the pioneering SolarStratos expedition, Bordier & Cie is committing to protecting the planet for the future by promoting a renewable energy source as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Innovating for future generations

“For 177 years, we have been protecting, nurturing and passing on the assets entrusted to us. It is therefore only natural for us to commit to protecting that most precious asset of all, namely our planet, and handing it down intact to the coming generations,” says Grégoire Bordier, Managing Partner. “We are delighted to support the SolarStratos mission, which embodies this ambition. I think Antoine de Saint-Exupéry perfectly illustrated this way of thinking when he said: ‘We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.’”

Bordier & Cie and SolarStratos share a great many traits that form the foundation for the success of this mission – from an emphasis on teamwork, multi-disciplinary specialisms and performance targeting to innovation, a quest for excellence, and Swiss expertise and dedication.

Raphaël Domjan, pilot and founder of the mission, expresses his satisfaction about Bordier’s decision to partner alongside SolarStratos: “Faced with the climate emergency, we need to boost our scope to innovate and demonstrate a pioneering spirit. The entire SolarStratos team is delighted to share their values with the Partners and employees of the Bordier group.”

About Bordier

Bordier & Cie is an independent private bank established as an unlimited liability partnership in 1844 in Geneva. Since then, it has grown into an international banking group owned and managed by the fifth generation of the same family. For the past 177 years, Bordier & Cie has helped to preserve the wealth entrusted to it by its clients, growing and safeguarding it for future generations.

Bordier & Cie’s philosophy operates according to fundamental values that prove their worth over time: responsibility, unquestioned independence, approachability and resilience. In Switzerland, Bordier & Cie has offices in Geneva, Nyon, Bern and Zurich. It is also present in Europe (France and UK), Asia (Singapore) and in the Americas (Turks & Caicos and Uruguay).

About SolarStratos and ‘To the edge of space’

SolarStratos is an adventure led by SolarXplorers SA. Its mission, launched by Swiss eco-explorer Raphaël Domjan in 2014, is to perform the first manned, solar-powered flight into the stratosphere. As well as spearheading innovations, SolarStratos aims to promote solar energy and electrification of our society as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and shielding our environment from the effects of climate change.

SolarStratos is also intent on demonstrating that by using currently available technologies, it can perform amazing feats exceeding the potential of fossil fuels to fly at high altitudes, to where no electric or solar-powered aircraft has gone before.

* Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Contacts medias

Bordier & Cie

Christophe Leu
Head of Communication
T: +41 (0)58 258 03 54
E: christophe.leu@bordier.com

Sandrine Murisier
Communications Officer
T. +41 (0)58 258 02 54
E: sandrine.murisier@bordier.com

SolarStratos

Pascale E. Bosson RP
Communication
T. +41 (0)79 758 67 32
E: pascale@pascalebosson-rp.com

Coralie Jugan
Press relations, France
T. +33 6 12 97 78 63
E. coraliejugan@orange.fr