Ocean X Prix supporting the Lac Rose community

Extreme E’s Ocean X Prix was won by Rosberg X Racing’s Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson, making it two wins from two, meaning they maintain their lead in the overall standings.

The action packed weekend was also the chance for Extreme E to highlight the issues the world is facing due to the climate crisis and some of the various solutions on offer.

Following the Ocean X Prix Final, Extreme E staff, guests and drivers including the likes of Jamie Chadwick, Stéphane Sarrazin, Kevin Hansen and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, came straight off the podium to take part in a beach clean of the race course, collecting over 100 bags of waste from the sands of Lac Rose.

Stephan Senghor, Senegalese eco-entrepreneur and Founder of GroupeSenghor which has worked alongside Extreme E and its Legacy Partner to.org over the past 12 months, said: “Today is a great day for me, it's as if we're closing the loop because we started here with a beach clean up over a year ago, and we ended up with the big beach clean up, including teams and series staff together, and that felt like a good moment for me because it brings the message together.

“We're not here for show, we are here to make some real change happen. This is the message that Extreme E is conveying, its technology, it's radical sport, but it's also about care for the planet, and care for the planet comes with action not just intention. Extreme E has demonstrated that in Lac Rose, there aren’t many sports where drivers come straight from the press conference to pick up trash on the beach.

“What Extreme E has done in this area, no event whatsoever has done the same. My huge thanks to Alejandro and this team, and to Nachson Mimran and his to.org changemakers who turned this event here in Senegal from a dream into a reality.”

Nachson Mimran, CEO and co-founder of to.org, said: “The to.org team and I are immensely grateful to Extreme E and all those that supported the Ocean X Prix over the weekend, accelerating the mission to reduce the effects of climate change in our second home, Senegal.

“The nation shone brightly on screens worldwide over the weekend, a global audience was able to witness the spectacular coastline we are working hard to protect. The to.org team and I offer our thanks to Alejandro Agag, the fantastic Extreme E race teams and everyone that supported our Legacy Programme initiative to plant and protect mangrove trees. I can't forget to mention our local implementation partner in the mangrove project, Oceanium, and our long-term collaborator and friend, Stephan Senghor, for their tireless dedication to Senegal's environmental health.” 

In the days lead up to the racing, and over the race weekend itself, Extreme E media and guests were given various insight talks, including the subjects of ocean health and plastic pollution.

Sheena Talma, Scientific Committee Advisor to Extreme E, said: “Extreme E is an innovative way of portraying the messages of the climate crisis. For a long time as scientists we sit in a different world and that means that a lot of our work and information about global climate change stays within that community, but I think there's been a big push towards trying to get out of those crystal palaces and essentially disseminate that information and I believe Extreme E gives us an extra platform to do that.

“It involves a very different group of people so it's interesting to see for example during the breaks in the racing broadcast, environmental information highlighting the effects we are having on the planet versus sporting content.

“One of the things that I spoke about was the fact that we need to consider this uncomfortable subject and then take action. When we talk about things like global climate change and the fact that it's actually immediate, not two years from now and relying on someone else to deal with it, it makes people uncomfortable, but if we don’t talk about it, find solutions and take action we will all be in real trouble.

“We have a lot of work to do but I’m really optimistic, there are a lot of people that are working to try to change mentalities locally, for example the mangrove project Extreme E is supporting also works with the community on how to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

Extreme E has big ambitions aside from delivering thrilling racing and these are met through its Legacy Programmes in each country it visits and its collaborations with some of the most innovative companies in the world to highlight the climate crisis, support communities and showcase real world solutions.

These companies include AFC Energy that delivers a hydrogen fuel cell to charge the fleet of ODYSSEY 21s emission-free, Zenobe that has provided a second-life battery to power the paddock, Henosis masks that have produced biodegradable masks for the Extreme E team, plus Polymateria that revealed a very exciting LivingLab in Senegal.

The LivingLab showcased LyfeCycle, a new solution from Polymateria to tackle plastic pollution, just one of the many issues of climate change. The glass box was filed with sand from the course and used LyfeCycle products which over the coming months will biodegrade demonstrating the potential of this plastic that can be recycled, or will return to nature in a matter of months leaving no trace, unlike normal plastic, which take thousands of years to degrade and when it does, leaves harmful microplastics behind that have a detrimental impact of the planet.

Adding a final statement, Sheena Talma said: “I think the question now goes back to us, what can we do right now to mitigate the effects that we are all having on the planet?”

While Extreme E’s race locations are in remote corners of the world, everyone has the power to make a difference, and this is demonstrated through Extreme E’s Count Us In Challenge, which invites fans to take practical steps on climate change by pledging to take action to reduce their carbon footprint in support of their favourite team. Fan pledges for each team are added together in the Challenge leaderboard, with the winning team claiming the Extreme E Sustainability Award at the end of the series.

Extreme E’s next event – the Arctic X Prix – takes place from 28-29 August in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to highlight the melting ice cap and the issues that brings.